Yuta Tabuse
田臥 勇太
No. 0 – Utsunomiya Brex
PositionPoint guard
LeagueB.League
Personal information
Born (1980-10-05) October 5, 1980 (age 43)
Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolNoshiro Technical
(Noshiro, Akita)
CollegeBYU–Hawaii (2001–2002)
NBA draft2002: undrafted
Playing career2002–present
Career history
2002–2003Toyota Alvark
2003–2004Long Beach Jam
2004Phoenix Suns
2005–2006Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2006–2007Bakersfield Jam
2007–2008Anaheim Arsenal
2008–presentLink Tochigi Brex
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× B.League Champion (2017, 2022)
  • JBL Finals MVP (2010)
  • JBL Champion (2010)
  • ABA Champion (2004)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  Japan
FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Kolkata Team
William Jones Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Taipei Team

Yuta Tabuse (田臥 勇太, Tabuse Yūta, born October 5, 1980) is a Japanese professional basketball player for Utsunomiya Brex of the B.League. A point guard, Tabuse is 1.75 metres (5 ft 9 in) and 75 kilograms (165 lb).[1] He was the first Japanese-born player to appear in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game.[2]

Tabuse has enjoyed popularity in Japan since his high school playing days, when he led his school to three straight national championships, and has been referred to as "the Michael Jordan of Japan" for his celebrity status.[3][4]

Career

Early years

Tabuse, who was born in Yokohama and grew up in what he calls "a sports family", began playing basketball at the age of nine, because he was not good at baseball and not interested in soccer.[5] He attended Noshiro Technical High School in Akita Prefecture, where he led his team to national championships all three years he was there and lost only a single game.[4][6]

After graduation from high school in March 1999, Tabuse chose to enroll at Brigham Young University-Hawaii for its English as an International Language program.[5] He sat out his first two seasons at BYUH because of eligibility rules and played one season before turning pro. He averaged 7.6 points per game and led the Pacific West Conference with 6.6 assists.

Tabuse returned to join the Toyota Alvark, with whom he won the Japan Basketball League Rookie of the Year award for the 2002–03 season.[3]

NBA

After leaving the Toyota Alvark in 2003, Tabuse became the first Japanese national to play in the NBA's summer league, playing six games in the Rocky Mountain Revue for the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 13 minutes per game.[7] Tabuse's first attempt at making it to the NBA made the headlines in Japan, and drew large media attention. On September 27 of that year, Tabuse joined the Denver Nuggets' training camp,[7][8] but he was waived on October 24,[8] before the start of the regular season.

Tabuse spent the 2003–04 season with the American Basketball Association champion Long Beach Jam, averaging 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and a team-high 6.3 assists per game in 18 games.

In 2004, Tabuse joined the Phoenix Suns' training camp and made the opening night roster. He scored seven points in his first NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks on November 3, 2004, becoming on that day the first Japanese player ever to play in an NBA regular season game.[9] However, he was waived by the Suns on December 16, 2004 after playing in four games and rejoined the Jam for the remainder of the season.[10] Suns assistant coach Marc Iavaroni said of Tabuse: "I liked his energy, I liked his courage."[11]

Those four games with Phoenix ended up being Tabuse's only playing time in the NBA throughout his professional basketball career. His 4th and final game in the NBA was played on December 15, 2004 in a 108 - 86 win over the Utah Jazz. Tabuse only played for 2 minutes and recorded no stats.

In 2005, Tabuse signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, but was waived before the start of the regular season.[12][13] That fall, Tabuse appeared on a limited edition cover of NBA Live video game in Japan, even though he did not play a single NBA regular season game.[14] That year, he was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League (D-League) and averaged 6.5 points and 4.0 assists in 34 games before he was waived on March 16, 2006.[15] Michael Cooper, former NBA player and Tabuse's coach with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, said of him, "He automatically changes the game because of his quickness and distributing the ball. He's the best fundamental player I've seen around in a long time."[16]

Yuta Tabuse at Link Tochigi Brex

In 2006, Tabuse decided to forsake an opportunity to play with the Japanese national team in the world championships that took place between August 19 to September 3 across five cities in Japan, and instead play with the Dallas Mavericks' summer league team.[12] In November 2006, Tabuse was drafted into the NBA D-League with the 11th pick of the third round (35th overall) by the Bakersfield Jam.[17] In November 2007, Tabuse was cut by the Bakersfield Jam before the 2007–08 season.[18]

On December 8, 2007, Tabuse was acquired by the Anaheim Arsenal of the D-League,[19] and he made his debut on December 9 against the Bakersfield Jam, scoring 4 points and adding 3 assists in almost 13 minutes of play.[20] For the 2007–08 season, Tabuse averaged 4.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 39 games.[21]

In July 2008, Tabuse joined the New Jersey Nets' squad in the Orlando Pro Summer League.[22][23]

Return to Japan

In August 2008, Tabuse signed for Japan Basketball League side Link Tochigi Brex. Tochigi's head coach Mitsuhiko Kato was in charge of the basketball club of Noshiro Technical High School when Tabuse played for the school.[24]

In April 2009, Tabuse was named to the 22-man roster for the Japan national basketball team. The team played at the FIBA Asia Championship for Men.[25] In May 2009, ESPN reported that Tabuse would leave the national team after receiving an invitation by the Dallas Mavericks to compete in their summer camp.[26]

In 2010, his team won the JBL Basketball League championship game. Tabuse was named Finals MVP. Tabuse's team would later win their second Japanese League championship in 2017 under the rebranded Japanese Professional Basketball League. Tabuse continues to play basketball professionally into this forties.[27]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004-05 Phoenix 4 0 4.3 .167 1.00 1.00 1.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 1.8

D-League

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2005-2006 ABQ 34 4 23.2 .406 .313 .780 2.1 4.0 1.2 0.0 1.21 6.5
2006-2007 BAK 44 3 18.7 .412 .263 .773 1.4 3.5 0.9 0.0 1.20 6.1
2007-2008 ANA 39 0 13.0 .374 .341 .810 1.2 2.0 0.9 0.0 1.07 5.7

JBL

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2008-2009 Tochigi 33 33 34.2 .475 .226 .742 3.5 5.6 2.3 0.1 2.24 11.0
2009-2010 Tochigi 26 -- 26.6 .551 .360 .803 3.1 3.5 2.0 0.0 1.46 11.8
2010-2011 Tochigi 31 -- 28.8 .455 .375 .792 2.6 3.4 1.3 0.1 0.97 8.7
2011-2012 Tochigi 39 20.9 .488 .156 .741 2.3 2.6 1.2 0.1 1.5 6.4
2012-2013 Tochigi 22 26.8 .476 .188 .879 2.4 2.7 0.8 0.0 1.5 10.4

NBL

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013-2014 Tochigi 54 32.8 .441 .330 .858 4.2 5.9 2.0 0.1 2.1 15.6
2014-15 Tochigi 51 26.9 .471 .250 .814 2.2 4.5 1.7 0.1 1.7 10.3
2015-16 Tochigi 50 23.7 .484 .310 .826 2.0 3.3 1.2 0.0 1.0 7.0

B.League

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
B1 2016-17 Tochigi 59 59 20.8 49.7 27.8 83.9 1.8 3.4 1.0 0.1 0.9 7.4
B1 2017-18 Tochigi 60 60 17.9 47.7 13.6 86.2 1.7 2.7 0.8 0.0 0.8 5.4

See also

References

  1. ^ According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Tabuse is listed at 5 ft 9 in but stands 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m). (link: BYUH alum Tabuse signs with Nuggets[dead link])
  2. ^ Kaz Nagatsuka (May 4, 2006). "Tabuse still has eyes on NBA dream". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "A year of firsts ... and lasts". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 17, 2002. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Song, Jaymes (December 14, 2001). "'Jordan of Japan' living up to nickname". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2006.
  5. ^ a b Toth, Catherine E. (December 20, 2001). "BYUH's Japanese point guard learning about celebrity". The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on September 6, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
  6. ^ バスケの能代から全てのバスケファンへ (8 August 2015). "'96 東北大会 決勝 田臥1年 仙台に敗れる". Retrieved 12 November 2016.[dead YouTube link]
  7. ^ a b "Sports Briefs". The Taipei Times. September 28, 2003. p. 23. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004.
  8. ^ a b Denver Nuggets Transactions 2002-03
  9. ^ "The Complete History of Asian Players in the NBA".
  10. ^ "Suns Waive Guard Yuta Tabuse". NBA.com. December 18, 2004. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2006.
  11. ^ Green, Josh (September 7, 2004). "Tabuse Signing Expands Suns' International Flavor". Suns.com. NBA.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2005. Retrieved July 14, 2006.
  12. ^ a b "Tabuse chooses summer league over playing for Japan". ESPN. Reuters. May 2, 2006. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012.
  13. ^ "Clippers Set Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. October 31, 2005. Archived from the original on November 2, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
  14. ^ "EA Sport Promotes Bench Warmer". Kotaku. October 5, 2005. Archived from the original on January 13, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
  15. ^ "2005-06 Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2007.
  16. ^ Fowler, Jeremy (December 22, 2005). "Japan's Yuta Tabuse is a whirlwind of speed and excitement on the court for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds". The Albuquerque Tribune. Archived from the original on March 17, 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2006.
  17. ^ Walker, Richard (July 13, 2006). "2006 Summer Pro League - Day Five". DraftExpress. Retrieved July 20, 2006.
  18. ^ "Jam cuts ties with fan favorite Tabuse". The Bakersfield Californian. November 17, 2007. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  19. ^ "Yuta Tabuse, Will Blalock Acquired By Anaheim Arsenal". December 8, 2007. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014.
  20. ^ Arsenal 119, Jam 109 - Box score
  21. ^ NBA Development League: Yuta Tabuse Career Stats and Totals Archived March 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Arsenal players make summer league rosters". The Bakersfield Californian. July 7, 2008. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  23. ^ "2008 Orlando Summer League Rosters". ESPN. July 8, 2008. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  24. ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz (September 1, 2008). "NBA trailblazer Tabuse signs for JBL's Brex". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  25. ^ "Tabuse, Orimo named to national team roster". The Japan Times. April 8, 2009. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  26. ^ Associated Press (May 30, 2009). "Japan's Tabuse leaves national team". ESPN. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  27. ^ "田臥勇太、42歳。日本人初のNBAプレーヤーが、今でもプレーを続ける理由 | GQ Stories | GQ JAPAN", YouTube (in Japanese), retrieved 2023-09-13

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