Camille Naredo

Japan's Rui Hachimura during the 2024 Paris Olympics. FIBA photo

Japan's Rui Hachimura during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Article (news)

PARIS 2024

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1746421611274050525_Rui Hachimura 1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Japan&#x27;s Rui Hachimura during the 2024 Paris Olympics. FIBA photo"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Japan&#x27;s Rui Hachimura during the 2024 Paris Olympics. <em>FIBA photo</em></span></span></span></div><p>FUNABASHI, Japan -- Japan has ambitious plans to become a basketball powerhouse but a row involving star player Rui Hachimura and disagreements over the domestic league&#x27;s direction mean success is anything but a slam dunk.</p><p>Once a minnow on the world stage, Japan qualified for last year&#x27;s Paris Olympics and took eventual silver medallists France to overtime in the group phase, helped by a handful of NBA-based players including Los Angeles Lakers forward Hachimura.</p><p>At home, the domestic B. League is enjoying record attendances and revenue, with new arenas being built and ambitions to become the second-best league in the world behind America&#x27;s NBA.</p><p>Chairman Shinji Shimada says the B. League&#x27;s &quot;mix of sport and live entertainment&quot; offers Japanese fans something different.</p><p>&quot;Lots of people watch a B. League game for the first time and say it&#x27;s more interesting than football or baseball, and they want to come back,&quot; he told AFP in the B. League&#x27;s plush office in central Tokyo.</p><p>Shimada says the B. League is already catching up on a business scale with leagues in Europe and China and is taking steps to close the gap on the court too.</p><p>Teams have signed players with NBA experience such as Alize Johnson, who played alongside the &quot;Big Three&quot; of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden at the Brooklyn Nets.</p><p>Johnson says he knew nothing about the B. League when he was in the NBA but he would recommend it to other players dropping below the elite level.</p><p>&quot;In terms of the money being guaranteed and the lifestyle, how they go about making sure everything is by the book, it makes players feel comfortable knowing there&#x27;s not going to be anything fishy going on,&quot; he said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/2/4/feu-d-baby-tamaraws-complete-sweep-to-rule-2025-b-league-u16-challenge-1634">READ: FEU-D Baby Tamaraws complete sweep to rule 2025 B.League U16 Challenge</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/4/28/francis-lopez-leaves-up-set-to-join-fighting-eagles-nagoya-in-b-league-1809">READ: Francis Lopez leaves UP, set to join Fighting Eagles Nagoya in B.League</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Hachimura hold-out -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1746421633311050525_Rui Hachimura 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Japan&#x27;s Rui Hachimura during the 2024 Paris Olympics. FIBA photo"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Japan&#x27;s Rui Hachimura during the 2024 Paris Olympics. <em>FIBA photo</em></span></span></span></div><p>The B. League has also invested in local talent and last year brought back national team star Yuta Watanabe after six seasons in the NBA.</p><p>The 30-year-old, who had never played professionally in Japan before, has struggled with injuries but he is back in action as the B. League play-offs approach.</p><p>Watanabe and Hachimura are the two main faces of Japan&#x27;s national team, who captured the public&#x27;s imagination at the 2023 World Cup in Okinawa when they qualified for the Paris Games.</p><p>Japan performed respectably at the Olympics but the mood soured three months later when Hachimura threatened to quit the team after a scathing attack on Japanese basketball chiefs.</p><p>The 27-year-old, by far the country&#x27;s most successful player, accused the Japan Basketball Association of having a &quot;profit-first&quot; mentality.</p><p>He also aimed a barb at head coach Tom Hovasse, who got the job after leading Japan&#x27;s women to silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, saying the American had &quot;not managed at a world level&quot;.</p><p>Hachimura has still not said whether he will return and Watanabe hopes relationships can be mended.</p><p>&quot;For him to say that publicly, there must have been a big build-up of stress,&quot; said Watanabe.</p><p>&quot;The lack of communication became a problem and I hope that can be fixed properly.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Internal strife -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1746421661233050525_BLeague.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A B.League game between Nagasaki and Yokohama in January. (c) B.LEAGUE"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A B.League game between Nagasaki and Yokohama in January. <strong></strong><em>(c) B.LEAGUE</em><strong></strong></span></span></span></div><p>Watanabe fears that communication issues could also derail the domestic league as it prepares to relaunch as the B. League Premier from the 2026-27 season.</p><p>The league plans to introduce a salary cap and raise the number of overseas players allowed on the court at any one time from two to three.</p><p>The plans have brought the league into conflict with the players&#x27; association, who worry that Japanese players will end up with less money and time on the court.</p><p>Shimada insists the changes are necessary to raise the overall level and narrow the gap in quality between teams, giving fans more exciting games to watch.</p><p>At such a delicate time for Japanese basketball, Watanabe is urging everyone to work together.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m a little worried what fans will think if it&#x27;s a Japanese league but there aren&#x27;t many Japanese players on the court,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s fine for people who want to watch high-level basketball but for fans who want to support the players, that&#x27;s where a gap starts to appear.</p><p>&quot;A lot of fans are coming to games now but I worry if that will continue,&quot; he added.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Japan has ambitious plans to become a basketball powerhouse but a row involving star player Rui Hachimura and disagreements over the domestic league's direction mean success is anything but a slam dunk.</p>

Japan has ambitious plans to become a basketball powerhouse but a row involving star player Rui Hachimura and disagreements over the domestic league's direction mean success is anything but a slam dunk.

Basketball bust-ups threaten ambitious Japan's hoop dreams

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Basketball bust-ups threaten ambitious Japan's hoop dreams

Agence France-Presse,

Andrew McKirdy

Published May 05, 2025 01:10 PM PHT

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abssports

basketball

Japan

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Rui Hachimura

Los Angeles Lakers

Shinji Shimada

Yuta Watanabe

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