With an Olympic Games berth and Asian bragging rights on the line, Japan is set to lean heavily on its two-man NBA contingent when it co-hosts the FIBA Basketball World Cup with the Philippines and Indonesia later this year.
Okinawa Arena in the southernmost island prefecture will host group-stage games during the Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 tournament, including those featuring the Akatsuki Japan outfit led by the Los Angeles Lakers' Rui Hachimura and Brooklyn Nets' Yuta Watanabe.
Currently in the thick of a tumultuous NBA season, the two forwards will be integral to coach Tom Hovasse's plans for the World Cup, where Japan can secure automatic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics by finishing top among Asian countries.
The first NBA Draft lottery pick from Japan, selected ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in 2019, Hachimura is still finding his footing in Los Angeles after arriving in a Jan. 23 trade.
He began his career as a regular starter in Washington, but a series of more recent roster moves, including the addition of frontcourt players Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, led to a diminished role for the 25-year-old Toyama Prefecture native.
Hachimura still managed to showcase his offensive capability sporadically for the Wizards, including a 30-point outburst against the Orlando Magic just two days before the trade that saw him join superstar LeBron James on a Lakers roster battling for a Western Conference playoff berth.
In his self-described "best game of the season," Hachimura scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made a crucial blocked shot in the Lakers' 129-123 overtime win against the New York Knicks on Jan. 31. The performance garnered high praise from all-time NBA scoring leader James, who remains the league's biggest name at age 38.
"(Hachimura) is a great piece to have, and we're lucky to have him," James said postgame.
Hachimura has been averaging 12.4 points per game this season until the All Star break, and appears to have earned the faith of both James and Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, who has handed him multiple starts and kept him on the court during crunch time.
The Lakers, currently looking to move up from 13th in a wide-open playoff race, were enticed to trade for Hachimura's size, strength and ability to get to the rim -- qualities that make him more than a handful for many opposing teams in international competition.
When he was asked about the World Cup last November, Hachimura said it was far from his mind.
"I'm not thinking about it now. I'm concentrating on the (NBA) season," he said.
Whatever Hachimura's thoughts about the World Cup may be come August, the star Japanese player is certain to be firmly on coach Hovasse's mind.
Watanabe, whose NBA journey has been less smooth than Hachimura's, is averaging 6.5 points and 18 minutes per game, both career highs, in his first season in Brooklyn.
The 28-year-old needed to battle for his spot on the opening day roster for the Nets, who started the season with stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving before parting ways with both ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline.
Watanabe has raised his three-point accuracy to a deadeye 48.1 percent this season, with the improvement helping him earn a place in the Nets rotation after limited opportunities during his previous NBA stops in Memphis and Toronto.
The fifth-year forward studied Durant closely in practice and received high marks from his former teammate before the trade that sent the future Hall of Famer to the title-chasing Phoenix Suns.
In an interview with media network Boardroom, of which he is a founder, Durant lauded Watanabe for playing "extremely hard on every possession," and said the Japanese forward would be coveted by several teams when his one-year contract with the Nets expires after the season.
"He's one of those people that, if we don't lock him down, a lot of people are going to want him," Durant said.
While he is carving out a career as a role player in the NBA, Watanabe relishes the prospect of being a focal point of Japan's offense under Hovasse.
The American coach, who steered the Japanese women's team to silver at the Tokyo Games, has emphasized perimeter shooting since taking the reins of the men's national team after the Olympics.
"The more I develop as a player, the more I can contribute to the national team," Watanabe said. "I'm really looking forward to the tournament getting under way in Japan."
