is a Japanese former 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 and coach. He was selected by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

as the 171st pick of the eighth round of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA te ...

, although he did not sign with them. At 7'8" (233 cm), he is the tallest player to be drafted in

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) history. Okayama was the only player from Japan drafted in the NBA until Rui Hachimura was selected in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

. Okayama practiced

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

at junior high school and high school, and obtained a second degree

black belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

. He started playing basketball when he was eighteen at

Osaka University of Commerce , abbreviated to , is a private university located in Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. History The origin was founded in 1928 as Osaka Joto School of Commerce (大阪城東商業学校) by Noboru Tanioka (谷岡登, 1894–197 ...

. In 1975, when his height was about , he was recruited by the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

; he spent two years there, but a medical check revealed

gigantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', "giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ove ...

and he never played for the varsity team. After graduation, he joined the Sumitomo Metal Sparks basketball club. He represented Japan between 1979 and 1986 before he retired in 1996. After being selected in the 1981 NBA draft, Okayama opted to stay in Japan. As of 2005, he worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries and was active as a basketball coach. Okayama wrote a book for young basketball players in 1989.Tanoshii Basuketto Boru
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References

1954 births Living people Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1982 Asian Games Golden State Warriors draft picks Japanese basketball coaches Japanese men's basketball players Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Sportspeople from Kumamoto Prefecture Centers (basketball) People with gigantism University of Portland alumni {{Japan-basketball-bio-stub

See also

References