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Yasutaka Okayama
Japanese basketball coach and former player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Yasutaka Okayama (岡山恭崇, Okayama Yasutaka; born November 29, 1954) is a Japanese former professional basketball player and coach.[1] He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 171st pick of the eighth round of the 1981 NBA draft, although he did not sign with them.[2][3] At 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m), he is the tallest player to be drafted in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Okayama was the only player from Japan drafted into the NBA until Rui Hachimura was selected in the 2019 NBA draft.
Okayama practiced judo at junior high and high school, and obtained a second degree black belt. He started playing basketball at Osaka University of Commerce when he was eighteen. In 1975, when his height was about 2.08 metres (6 ft 10 in), he was recruited by the University of Portland; he spent two years there, but a medical check revealed gigantism and he never played for the varsity team.[4] After graduation, he joined the Sumitomo Metal Sparks basketball club. He represented Japan between 1979 and 1986 before retiring in 1996.
After being selected in the 1981 NBA draft, Okayama opted to stay in Japan.[5]
As of 2005, he worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries and was active as a basketball coach.[6]
Okayama wrote a book for young basketball players in 1989.[7]
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