is a Japanese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

SeaHorses Mikawa Seahorses Mikawa is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Kariya and sponsored by Aisin. The team was founded in 1947. The team played in the National Basketball League (Japan), National Basketball League. In July 2015 it was annou ...

of the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

. He played college basketball for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Rambl ...

. Schafer has been a member of the

Japan national basketball team The Japan national basketball team is administered by the Japan Basketball Association (JBA), (Japanese: 日本バスケットボール協会, ''Nihon Basukettobōru Kyōkai''). At the 1936 founding member of FIBA Asia, Japan has one of Asia ...

Early life

Schafer was born in

Suita is a city located in northern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 378,322 and a population density of 9,880 persons per km². The total area is 36.11 km². The city was founded on April 1, ...

Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...

, to a Japanese mother, Sayuki, and an American father, Douglas. He initially played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

before switching to basketball in tenth grade, at the age of 16.

High school career

Schafer attended Kobe University Secondary School in Higashinada and St. Mary's International School in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He played club basketball with Tokyo Samurai, a recognized American

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

based in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Schafer, who initially played the sport for fun, cited that playing with the club opened the door to many basketball opportunities such as joining the national team, playing in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

and pursuing a professional career. After moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Schafer attended prep school

Brewster Academy ) , established = , type = Independent boarding school , gender = Co-educational , head_name = Head of School , head = Kristy Kerin , chair_label = Chair of Trustees , chair = R C Ballentine Esq , city = ...

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Wolfeboro is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,416 at the 2020 census. A resort area situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro includes the village of Wolfeboro Falls. History The town was granted ...

and played varsity basketball for the Bobcats during his senior year. He helped the team finish the season with a 33–0 record and win the national prep school championship and the NEPSAC class AAA title.

College career

Schafer attended

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and played for the

Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these ...

. He made his collegiate debut on 22 November 2017, against the

UTRGV Vaqueros The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas ...

. As a freshman, Schafer totaled two rebounds and three minutes over four games. As a sophomore, he appeared in two games, garnering a total of two rebounds and three minutes, before leaving Georgia Tech in the fall of 2018 to play professional basketball in Japan.

Professional career

Alvark Tokyo (2018–2019)

On 19 December 2018, Schafer signed with

Alvark Tokyo Alvark Tokyo is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Tokyo. The team, which is sponsored by Toyota, currently plays in the Japanese B.League. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. Founded as Toyota Pacers in 1948, ...

of the

, joining the team in the middle of the season. He made his professional debut on 22 December, against the

Yokohama B-Corsairs The are a Japanese professional basketball team. Following the team's establishment in 2010, they participated in the Eastern Conference of the bj league for five seasons and in 2013 became the first team based in the Kanto region of Japan to w ...

, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound across three minutes of action. Tokyo went on to win the 2019 B.League championship title after defeating the

Chiba Jets Funabashi Chiba Jets Funabashi ( ja, 千葉ジェッツふなばし) is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Funabashi, Chiba. The team joined the JBL Super League in 2005 and currently competes in the B.League. The 31,000sqm Lala Arena Toky ...

. For the season, Schafer averaged 1.2 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists in 3.6 minutes over 14 games. On 24 May 2019, Tokyo extended Schafer’s contract for another season.

Shiga Lakestars (2019–2020)

On 29 July 2019,

Shiga Lakestars Shiga Lakes (滋賀レイクス) is a Japanese men's basketball team playing in the Western Conference of the B.League. They are based in the Shiga Prefecture. Coaches * Bob Pierce (2008–10) *Takatoshi Ishibashi *Hirokazu Nema *Al Westover ...

announced they have acquired Schafer from

via loan transfer. On 2 December, Schafer earned his first B.League All-Star selection. He was also named as one of the participants in the dunk contest. On 14 March 2020, he logged his first career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 16 points and 14 rebounds, both season-highs, in a loss against his former team. Schafer appeared in 41 games, including 9 starts, averaging 4.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 15.2 minutes per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field. Following his performance, he was named to the B.League Best Five Rookies.

SeaHorses Mikawa (2020–present)

On 27 May 2020, Schafer signed a one-year deal with

. On 14 December, he was named to the B.League All-Star list, making it his second consecutive appearance. On 24 April 2021, Schafer logged a season-high 24 points in a 106–102 overtime loss to

Shimane Susanoo Magic Shimane Susanoo Magic (島根スサノオマジック) is a Japanese professional basketball team in Japan's top-tier basketball competition, the B.League. The team is based in Shimane Prefecture with its home arena in Matsue City, but with a fo ...

. On 9 May, he logged a

with 19 points and a season-high 19 rebounds in a win over

Osaka Evessa is a professional basketball team playing in the B.League, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. The team is operated by the Human Group Sports Entertainment Company. The team is named after Ebisu. In July 2015 it was announced ...

. Schafer started and played in all 55 games, averaging 9.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from three. On 14 June 2021, Mikawa extended Schafer’s contract for another season.

National team career

Junior national team

Schafer made his international debut when he was selected to be a part of the Japanese squad that competed at the

2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship The 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship was the 24th edition of the Asian Championship for Junior Men aged 18 years old and below. The tournament was held in Tehran, Iran from July 22 to 31. The top three teams will qualify and will represent FI ...

, where he helped the team win the silver medal. In a game against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, Schafer logged a

with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He averaged 4.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The following year, Schafer suited up for Japan at the

2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Arabic: 2017 كأس العالم لكرة السلة تحت 19 سنة فيبا) was the 13th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball champi ...

, where he averaged 5.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game and was the team's second-leading rebounder. Schafer posted a double-double twice, 11 points and 10 rebounds against

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

and 10 points and 10 rebounds versus

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Senior national team

Schafer debuted for the senior national team at the

2018 William Jones Cup The 2018 William Jones Cup was the 40th staging of William Jones Cup, an international basketball tournament held in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The men's tournament was held from 14–22 July 2018 with 11 teams participating. The women's tournament ...

. A year later, Schafer competed for the Japanese squad at the

2019 William Jones Cup The 2019 William Jones Cup is the 41st staging of William Jones Cup, an international basketball tournament held in Changhua, and New Taipei City, Taiwan. The men's tournament was held from 12 to 21 July 2019 while the women's tournament will be co ...

, where he helped the team win the bronze medal. He had 14 points and 8 rebounds in a game against

. Schafer averaged 7.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The following month, he represented Japan at the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 FIBA World Ch ...

, where he only played in two games. Schafer played for Japan at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, where he averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. His tournament highlights included a

outing with 11 points and 10 rebounds against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

Personal life

Schafer has two brothers. His older brother, Yuki, played soccer at

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

. Schafer's father is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Career statistics

College

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, 4 , , 0 , , .8 , , .000 , , – , , – , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

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References

External links

Career stastistics
from basketballnavi.com
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio

Avi Koki Schafer at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers
at fiba.basketball
Avi Koki Schafer at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup
at fiba.basketball
Avi Koki Schafer at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup
at fiba.basketball
Avi Koki Schafer at the 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship
at fiba.basketball

at archive.fiba.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Avi 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Osaka Prefecture Japanese men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Japanese expatriate basketball people in the United States Brewster Academy alumni Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Shiga Lakes players Asian Games competitors for Japan Basketball players at the 2018 Asian Games 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Jewish men's basketball players Japanese people of American-Jewish descent Japanese Jews People from Suita Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Japan