Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green revealed that he was persuaded by Rakuten chairman Hiroshi Mikitani to come to Japan.
"This is like my fourth NBA trip that I've done over the summer," the three-time NBA champion said at a news conference on Saturday at the Tokyo headquarters of Rakuten, which launched a global partnership with the NBA while it became a sponsor for the Western Conference club last year.
"And obviously, with the partnership of Rakuten and Golden State Warriors, I've got a chance to make it. And (Mikitani) said to me all year like 'You've got to come to Japan, you've got to come to Japan.' It's amazing. And I've always heard about great things (about Japan). So this is definitely a trip that I wanted to take."