is a Japanese basketball coach and former 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. A point guard, she played for JX Sunflowers of the

Women's Japan Basketball League The Women's Japan Basketball League is the premier women's basketball league in Japan. History Chanson Cosmetics was a dominant team in the early 1990s, winning 6 championships in a row. Teams Teams : * Aisin Wings * Chanson V-Magic * Denso I ...

and the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. Her nickname is Shin.

Career

She started playing basketball influenced by her father who was a basketball coach of the

Yamagata University is a national university located in the Japanese cities of Yamagata, Yonezawa, and Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture. The Times Higher Education released World University Rankings 2016–2017. Yamagata University ranked 600-800th out of the t ...

. She was educated at and played for

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

College High School (currently Ōka Gakuen High School). While there, she helped the school win 7 national titles. After graduation in 2001, she joined

Japan Energy was a Japanese petroleum company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Mining Holdings (now JXTG Nippon Mining & Metals). The petroleum products of Japan Energy Corporation were sold by filling stations under the brand name JOMO (for "joy of mo ...

basketball club. In the same year, she received her first call-up for the national team. In 2004, she represented Japan at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and became the youngest Japanese female basketball player at the Olympics ever. In 2007, she became the first Japanese female player to sign a professional contract in the domestic leagues. In 2008, she signed a training camp contract with Phoenix Mercury. The club announced on May 16, 2008, that she made the opening day roster. She is the second Japanese player to play in the WNBA after

Mikiko Hagiwara is a Japanese former professional basketball player. She won a silver medal with the Japan women's national basketball team at the Basketball at the 1994 Asian Games, 1994 Asian Games. Hagiwara also competed at the Basketball at the 1996 Summer O ...

who also played for the Mercury from 1997 to 1998. She recorded 4 points and 1 assist in her WNBA debut on May 17, 2008, in the season opener, a 94–99 loss against the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

References

External links

Yuko Oga official web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oga, Yuko 1982 births Living people Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2006 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2010 Asian Games Japanese expatriate basketball people in China Japanese expatriate basketball people in the United States Japanese women's basketball players Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Olympic basketball players of Japan People from Yamagata Prefecture Phoenix Mercury players Point guards Shanxi Flame players