Long before recent international Japanese basketball stars like Yuta Tabuse, Yuki Togashi and Yuta Watanabe, there was Yasutaka Okayama, who might have made a name for himself the same way they did.
Okayama, who stands 230 cm — which allegedly makes him the tallest Japanese person — was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the eighth round of the 1981 NBA Draft. That was the first and only time a Japanese player has been selected.
Okayama didn't take his shot at joining the premier hoop league, however. He decided to stay in Japan.