All professional basketball leagues have people working behind the scenes or in roles that are less glamorous than the starting five or head coach.
For the Niigata Albirex BB, who became Japan's first professional basketball team when it entered the old-school corporate Japan Basketball League in 2000, with current bj-league commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi calling the shots in the team's front office, Hideki Takamori was one of those guys. For 13 seasons to be precise.
Takamori began his longtime role as Niigata's team translator, plus additional duties, in 2001. Now, he has stepped down, making an announcement to the general public, team supporters and those who follow Japanese basketball via Facebook last week.