, sometimes called Maikeru Takahashi, is a Japanese-born American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who was considered in the mid-1990s to early 2000s one of the best players in Asia, a prolific scorer and rebounder, dominating the opposition through his athleticism and technique.

Biography

Takahashi was born in Kokubunji, Tokyo to Ikuko Takahashi, a Japanese woman who now works as a computer programmer in Missouri and American actor Willie Dorsey who died sometime before 1995. Michael moved to the United States when he was 2 years old, settling in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

where he started playing basketball in high school. He is married and has two children. It was revealed that Takahashi has one younger brother, actor Jun Soejima.

Professional career

After playing in college for

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest u ...

he moved to Japan after playing there in the

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

. On arrival he adopted his mother's surname of Takahashi to integrate. Takahashi joined Isuzu Motors of the Japan Basketball League for the 1995-1996 season and quickly established himself in Japanese basketball, winning the league title and being awarded rookie of the year and the first of many All-Star designations. From then on he would be a vital element of the team that won all but two titles until it withdrew from the league due to financial difficulties in 2002. Takahashi would later repeat that success at Toyota Alvark where he won the title a further three times before joining his current team the Aisin Seahorses. He won his ninth championship in his first year with the Aisin seahorses.

National team

Takahashi became a mainstay on the Japanese national team starting with the 1995 Asian Championship where he helped the team win a bronze medal. They would do better at the next edition losing the final to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

which qualified them for the

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

for the first time in 31 years. At the 1998 tournament in Athens they were eliminated at the group stage, losing all their games although Takahashi finished as his team's best scorer with 16.4 PPG."Maikeru Takahashi player profile"
''

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

''. Retrieved on 16 February 2015. After playing in the 1999 Asian Championship, the 2002 Asian Games and the 2003 Asian Championship (missing the 2001 edition due to club interference) without repeating earlier successes, his distinguished international career ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Michael 1974 births Living people Akita Isuzu/Isuzu Motors Lynx/Giga Cats players Alvark Tokyo players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2002 Asian Games Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball players Japanese men's basketball players Japanese people of African-American descent Niigata Albirex BB players SeaHorses Mikawa players Small forwards Sportspeople from Tokyo Metropolis People from Kokubunji, Tokyo 1998 FIBA World Championship players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for Japan Asian Games competitors for Japan Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade