Yasutaka Okayama
Yasutaka Okayama is a Japanese former basketball player and coach. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 10th pick of the eighth round of the 1981 NBA draft, although he did not sign with them. At 7'8", he is the tallest player ever to be drafted in NBA history. Okayama was the only player from Japan drafted in the NBA until Rui Hachimura in the 2019 NBA draft.
Okayama practiced judo at junior high school and high school, and obtained a second degree black belt. He started playing basketball when he was eighteen at Osaka University of Commerce. In 1975, when his height was about, 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. After graduation, he joined the basketball club of Sumitomo Metal Sparks. He represented Japan between 1979 and 1986 before he retired in 1996. As of 2005, he worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries and was active as a basketball coach.
In 1989, he wrote a book for young basketball players.
