Memphis Grizzlies’ guard Yuki Kawamura (right) is dribbling during a visiting game against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2024-2025 National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, USA on November 10, 2024. AP Yonhap News
The movie ‘The First Slam Dunk’ (2023) ends with a scene in which Song Tae-seop (Ryota Miyagi), who entered the United States after completing a high school competition, has a rematch in a foreign land with Jung Woo-sung (Eiji Sawakita), who also crossed the sea. Even for long-time fans whose eyes are already swollen from the tears they shed when the ‘Slam Dunk’ title was raised, it is difficult to be seriously moved by this last scene. It is not strange that Jung Woo-sung, who is undisputedly the strongest in the works, takes ‘American Dream’ as the next milestone, but Song Tae-seop, who is also questionable as Kanagawa Prefecture’s ‘Number One’, is in the United States. Even if it is considered a reward for being selected as the main character in a movie version, a 168cm Japanese guard playing basketball in the United States? Is this even worth it?
172cm Japanese NBA player: “It’s not a cartoon”
It was about a year ago that I left the movie theater while comforting myself with the sorrow that was rising in my heart, and in the meantime, reality caught up with the cartoon. The FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, where the 2024-2025 season National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards was held on November 8, 2024. Memphis, with a large lead of 116-92 at the end of the fourth quarter, brought in Yuki Kawamura (23). Although it was already a garbage game (in reality, the winner was decided), the Memphis home fans looked excited as if there was still something important to see. After digging deep under the opponent’s goal, Kawamura made a behind-the-back pass to help Jay Huff’s dunk, and soon after, he fired a stepback 3-point shot from a one-on-one on the outside.
The FedEx Forum was enthusiastic. Isn’t the excitement excessive for a player who only played 5 minutes that day, scoring 3 points and providing 1 assist? It is not unreasonable to think so, but in a league where the average height is close to 2m, the sight of a 172cm tall Asian guard running around the court, throwing no-look passes and scoring outside shots is a wonder in itself. Kawamura previously made his NBA debut for just over a minute in a game against the Brooklyn Nets on October 30, and scored his first points (2 free throws) in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 6. In the recent away game against the Portland Trail Blazers (November 10), he scored 3 points and provided 4 assists in 8 minutes. Both playing time and game records are on a gradual rise.
Yuki Kawamura passes the ball during a preseason game against the Chicago Bulls held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on October 12, 2024. AFP Yonhap News
Kawamura is currently the shortest player in the NBA, and historically, there are about 10 players shorter than him. Like any other short player, he compensates for the limitations of his height with quickness, mobility, dribbling skills, wide vision, basketball intelligence, and precise and sensational passing. He is definitely Song Tae-seop, but he has an advantage that Song Tae-seop does not have. He is an elite shooter who can aim at the rim at any time from inside or outside the 3-point line, a clutch player who knows how to solve the problem in moments of crisis, and a faithful defender who sticks to the team tenaciously with a quick pace. In short, he has all the qualities of an ace. In fact, he seems closer to Jung Woo-sung in this respect. In other words, if Song Tae-seop wants to go to the United States, he has to do as well as Kawamura.
Make a mark at the Olympics and sign a ‘two-way contract’ with Memphis
Kawamura is the fourth Japanese player to play in the NBA, but the first player produced by the B League, the Japanese professional basketball league. Since his days at Fukuoka Daiichi High School, he has been recognized by the Japanese basketball world and entered the B-League as a ‘specially designated player’ (an exception that allows a college student to pursue a professional career at the same time), but as if he was not satisfied, he dropped out of college in 2022 and went ‘all in’. ‘ declared. Afterwards, he dominated the domestic stage by winning B League Best 5, Season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP, 2022-2023), and Rookie of the Year (2022-2023) for two consecutive seasons. It was in 2022 that Kawamura joined the adult national team, where he decided to postpone his lifelong goal of challenging the NBA for a while and test his capabilities with the national team.
Japanese basketball’s achievements since Kawamura joined are remarkable. The Asahi Shimbun expressed this as “helping the smallest player overcome the high wall of the international stage.” Japan achieved a come-from-behind victory against Europe’s powerhouse Finland in the first game of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup in August 2023. The colorful attack patterns and organized offense and defense transitions were excellent, and Kawamura, who scored 25 points and provided 9 assists without a single turnover, was at the center of it all. Continuing the momentum, Japan won a ticket to the Olympic finals for the first time in 48 years, and surprised the world again by holding a close overtime match against the host country, France, at the Paris Olympics in July 2024. Kawamura scored the most points for both teams with 29 points and 6 assists.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) celebrated Japan’s victory over Finland in the International Basketball Federation World Cup match on August 28, 2023 and uploaded the ‘Slam Dunk’ scene to the FIBA X Capture
After burning the summer in Paris, Kawamura crossed the Pacific Ocean at the invitation of Memphis, and after struggling in 5 preseason games (3.4 points and 4.2 assists in 15 minutes on average), he even received a ‘two-way contract’. NBA teams have 15 players on their regular rosters and can fill an additional three as two-way contractees. Players on two-way contracts play in the NBA and its affiliated minor league, the G League. If you prove your worth within a maximum of 45 days, you can enter the dream stage, but if not, you must remain in the G League and wait for next season. Kawamura said, “I received a two-way contract much sooner than expected,” and expressed his ambition, “I want to show that I can play in the NBA even if I am not big.”
Even if you’re not big, you can run even if you don’t have dunks.
Japan has a tradition of giving nicknames to its national ball teams, such as Samurai Japan (baseball), Samurai Blue (men’s soccer), and Nadeshiko Japan (women’s soccer). The nickname of the basketball team is ‘Akatsuki Japan’. Akatsuki (あかつき) means dawn in Japanese, and depending on ancient usage, it can also refer to ‘the day when something comes true in the future.’ There is a famous line in ‘Slam Dunk’ that says, “When was your prime, mine is now” (Kang Baek-ho), but at least Kawamura’s ‘that day’ will not be now. It wouldn’t be October 21st when he signed a two-way contract with Memphis, nor would it be November 8th when he scored his first three points in the NBA. Kawamura’s ‘that day’ has not come yet, but it doesn’t seem to be very far away.
Park Kang-soo, Hankyoreh reporter [email protected]
*Sports Inside is a series of observations of sports players from all over the world and the East, published every four weeks.
