🏀 Why You NEED TO KNOW About Yuki Kawamura?

Yesterday, the Grizzlies signed Yuki Kawamura to a two-way contract. The 23-year-old impressed in the Preseason with some flashy passes and good shooting from beyond the arc. Anything else special about him? Oh yeah, he’s now the 9th shortest player in NBA History!

These are the type of stories that you love in pro sports. The stories about the guys who don’t pass the eye test, who were never hand-given any opportunities, the guys who had to fight for every inch.

That’s the story of Yuki Kawamura. When you look at Yuki and you see his 5-foot 8-inch frame, it doesn’t scream NBA at you, but that’s exactly where he is. Yuki has spent the past 4 years playing professional basketball in Japan, in what they call their B.League. He won the league’s Rookie of the Year award at the age of 22, and then followed it up with the league’s MVP award for the 2023 Season! He then gained much more notice on the international stage.

The world became more familiar with him during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he helped Japan get their first-ever victory against a European team. Kawamura scored 15 points in the fourth quarter en route to a win against Finland.

In this past summer’s Paris Olympics, Yuki put up a 26 point, 7 rebound, and 6 assist performance against France in a narrow loss. He became the third player in Olympic history to have 25, 5, and 5 (the only other 2 being Kevin Durant and Luol Deng).

After that performance, the Memphis Grizzlies had seen enough and acquired him on September 6th. Despite not having page-shaking stats in his 5 preseason games, his IQ, grit, and knack for making good plays have earned him a shot as a two-way player for them.

“It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight. It’s about the size of the fight in the dog.”

A cool story from a guy who may not pass the NBA eye test, but passes the NBA heart test with flying colors!

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