Basketball: Tominaga sees playing for Hokkaido as shortcut to NBA
SAPPORO (Kyodo) -- National team guard Keisei Tominaga said Monday he chose to join Levanga Hokkaido of Japan's B-League because it offered a path to becoming an NBA player in the future.
"I thought coming over here would be the shortest route to my goal -- the NBA," the 24-year-old former U.S. college basketball standout said at his introductory press conference in Sapporo.
Tominaga is set to receive the largest annual salary ever for a Levanga player.
The sharp-shooting guard played for the Indiana Mad Ants in the NBA's developmental G League the past season but saw limited court time.
The presence of new Hokkaido head coach Torsten Loibl influenced Tominaga's move. Loibl coached Tominaga when he was on a youth-level national team.
"He's one of the coaches who brought out the best in me," Tominaga said.
Tominaga was a member of the Japanese men's team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2023 FIBA World Cup. He also represented the country in 3x3 basketball at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
"We want him to come up big in Hokkaido," Levanga's general manager Ryota Sakurai said. "We would like to support him if he wants to take up the challenge of playing overseas."
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Basketball: Tominaga sees playing for Hokkaido as shortcut to NBA
SAPPORO (Kyodo) -- National team guard Keisei Tominaga said Monday he chose to join Levanga Hokkaido of Japan's B-League because it offered a path to becoming an NBA player in the future. "I thought coming over here would be the shortest route to my goal -- the NBA," the 24-year-old former U.S. college basketball standout said at his introductory press conference in Sapporo. Tominaga is set to receive the largest annual salary ever for a Levanga player. The sharp-shooting guard played for the Indiana Mad Ants in the NBA's developmental G League the past season but saw limited court time. The presence of new Hokkaido head coach Torsten Loibl influenced Tominaga's move. Loibl coached Tominaga when he was on a youth-level national team. "He's one of the coaches who brought out the best in me," Tominaga said. Tominaga was a member of the Japanese men's team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2023 FIBA World Cup. He also represented the country in 3x3 basketball at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. "We want him to come up big in Hokkaido," Levanga's general manager Ryota Sakurai said. "We would like to support him if he wants to take up the challenge of playing overseas."
