MIES (Switzerland) - Japan has been swept up in basketball euphoria the past few years. The national team has been a big reason why.
The country played in the last two Olympics and the last couple of FIBA Basketball World Cups.
Japan national teams long ago captured the imagination of fans in the country, too. The country won the FIBA Asia Cup in 1965 and 1971, and reached the podium at other editions.
In the present day, Japan's domestic competition, the B. League, is thriving, with numerous international players and coaches in the competition.
If you were tasked with picking an All-Time Japan Star Five, who would be on the list?
We've gone with this one.
Yuki Kawamura - Guard
Kawamura has been sensational the past couple of summers as the team's playmaker. The 1.72m (5'8") point guard showed promise at the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 when Japan played in Jakarta, especially with his ball-handling and passing, yet he seemed reluctant to score himself! Japan national team coach Tom Hovasse told Kawamura to shoot with confidence after that event and there's been no looking back.
Kawamura was the MVP of the B. League in the very next season as the Yokohama B Corsairs star player, and then at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in Okinawa, he dazzled. Kawamura famously led Japan to a 98-88 come-from-behind win over Finland that paved the way for Olympic qualification. In that victory over the Susijengi, Kawamura had 25 points and 9 assists.
At the Olympics in France, Kawamura nearly orchestrated the biggest upset of the tournament against hosts France, scoring 29 points, corralling 7 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists. A four-point play by France with 10 seconds left forced overtime, and Vincent Collet's team then won the game. Kawamura was so good that he is now in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies. At 23 years of age, his best years with Japan are still to come.
Takehiko Orimo - Guard
Orimo gave new meaning to the phrase "long career" by playing until he was 49. A star in the 1997 Japan team that finished runners-up to Korea at the FIBA Asia Cup, Orimo was one of the event's top scorers. He then competed at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 1998 in Athens, where Orimo shot 69 percent from long range and averaged 8.8 points per game.
At the 2006 World Cup in Japan, Orimo's 12.2 points per game led the team in scoring. He reached double figures in points in all five games and hit 43.3 percent (13 of 30) from long range. Orimo next represented Japan at the FIBA Asia Cups in 2007 and 2009. In '07, he was prolific from long range, making 21 of 42 (50 percent). In 2009, he averaged 13.0 points per game. His performances in the B. League were a great cause for celebration. Before he retired in 2019, he became the first Japan-born player to score 10,000 points in league play.
Masatomo Taniguchi - Guard
Of all the claims to fame for Taniguchi, the biggest with Japan was probably his performance at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Indeed, one year after Japan's title triumph at the FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo, the team travelled to Germany and Taniguchi went off! He scored 191 points overall and became the tournament's leading scorer.
A left-handed shooter, Taniguchi led all scorers in the tournament at 23.9 points per game. In a game against Spain, he poured in 39 points. He also had 34 against Senegal. Taniguchi was the purest of shooters. He was lethal from outside.
Rui Hachimura - Forward
When Hachimura played for the country's youth teams, he wasn't just the best player in the team. He was one of the best players at the events. He was virtually unstoppable when Japan put the ball in his hands. He led a star-studded FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Dubai in scoring at 22.6 points per game, while at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Egypt, his 20.6 points per game was second only to tournament MVP RJ Barrett's 21.6 points per game.
With Japan's senior teams, Hachimura has yet to win yet he's poured in the points and shown tremendous skills on offense. At the 2019 World Cup in China, before his rookie season in the NBA, he averaged more than 13.3 points per game. His signature performance was a 21-point, 6-rebound and 4-assist performance against the Quarter-Finals bound Czech Republic. When Tokyo staged the Olympics in 2021, the 2.03m (6'8") forward was bigger and stronger with NBA experience under his belt. He averaged 22.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In 2024, at the Olympics in France, Hachimura averaged 22.0 points per game.
Yuta Watanabe - Center
There's a reason why Watanabe spent parts of six consecutive seasons after his college career at George Washington in the NBA. He's tall at 2.06m (6'9"), he's quick and he's got great hands. Watanabe has also been a versatile player, showing an ability to switch on smaller, or bigger players for Japan, and to operate both inside and out on offense.
Thriving in the open floor, possessing the ability to score from long range and strong when attacking the rim, Watanabe has been very important in numerous events for Japan, including the last two FIBA Basketball World Cups and the last two Olympic Games. Coach Tom Hovasse had Watanabe on the court for an average of 36.9 minutes per game in France. At the World Cup in Okinawa, Watanabe's 14.4 efficiency, 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game were second on the team while his 1.8 blocks per game ranked first.
Honorable Mention
Josh Hawkinson
The center has needed just a couple of summers to ensure he'll be among the all-time greats in the Japan jersey. The 2.08m (6'10") center provided scoring and rebounding at the World Cup in Okinawa to help Japan finish 19th out of the 32 teams. That was good enough to get Japan to the Olympics, where he excelled once again and almost averaged a double-double in points and rebounds for the second straight summer.
At the World Cup, Hawkinson had a team-best 28.6 efficiency, and he also led the team in scoring at 21.0 points per game. His 58.8 percent shooting from the floor was No. 1 on the team. Perhaps Hawkinson's most legendary performance for his adopted homeland was the key game against Finland at the World Cup, which saw Japan stage a remarkable comeback. Hawkinson had a game-high 28 points and an eye-popping 19 rebounds as the Japanese won to spark their run to Olympic qualification.
Makoto Hiejima
'Mo-Mo' was an appropriate nickname the Australians gave Hiejima during his short tenure with the Brisbane Bullets in 2018 and 2019 because throughout his career, he has often given his team momentum with his scoring. Hiejima hits jumpers, scores on drives to the basket and also sinks free-throws. Since his first senior national team tournament in 2013, when the shooting guard played at the FIBA Asia Cup in Manila, the Fukuoka-born star has been an automatic selection for Japan's coaches.
A member of the Japan teams that played at the last two World Cups, Hiejima's best performance at FIBA's flagship event was a 23-point explosion against Venezuela in 2023, when he buried 6 of 7 3-pointers. The more significant performance came in one of Japan's greatest-ever wins, a come-from-behind triumph over Finland. He hit both of his 3-pointers and finished with 17 points as Japan strengthened their bid for Olympic qualification. Hiejima played at the 2021 and 2024 Olympics. Arguably the best of his Asia Cup performances came in 2015, when he averaged 15.9 points and 1.8 steals per game - both team highs - to lead Japan into the Semi-Finals.
Yuta Tabuse
The electric guard, who shot to fame when he had a brief run with the NBA's Phoenix Suns, raised eyebrows with Japan's youth teams. At the 1999 World Championship for Junior Men, Tabuse averaged 11.1 points and 3.4 assists per game. A couple of years later at the World Championship for Young Men, Tabuse averaged 10.4 points and 3.1 assists per game. In his one big tournament with Japan, the FIBA Asia Cup 2015, Tabuse's 5.4 points and 3.0 assists per game helped Japan reach the Semi-Finals.
FIBA
*This All-Star Five and the honorable mentions are entirely subjective and in no way represent an official or accurate award, nor do they reflect FIBA's official stance. All comments are solely those of the author and expert panel, intended to entertain the fans.