Basketball in Japan

Basketball is included in top sports being played in Japan but it is less popular than football and baseball.[1]

Team

B. League is a professional league in Japan that has been established last 2016.[1] It is a combination of Super League and bj league enforced by FIBA.[2]

B. League has three divisions, with 18 teams in Divisions 1 and 2. Meanwhile, Division 3 only has 12 teams.[2]

It has captured the growing popularity of the sport among the young people of Japan. It has developed homegrown players that are now playing in NBA like Rui Hachimura.[3]

Competitions

1976 World Olympics

This was the last major appearance of the National Team at the Olympics. The Women's National Team reached its highest ranking, at 5th place.[2]

2019 FIBA World Cup

The Men's National Team was able to enter after a great performance during the qualifiers, even though they ranked #48 in the world.[2] They ranked #31 in the final standings of the competition.[4]

The Women's National Team ranked #9 in this competition.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

Since Japan is the host country for this Olympic Games, the Men and Women's National Teams automatically qualified for this competition.[2] However, the games were postponed to a later date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

References
  1. Blog, Japan Wonder Travel (2021-03-16). "10 Most Popular Sports In Japan". Japan Wonder Travel Blog. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  2. Moore, Shotaro Honda (2019-06-15). "Japanese Basketball On The Rise?". Medium. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  3. "Basketball finds its footing in Japan". Rakuten Today. 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  4. "Final standings of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  5. "The game changer for men's basketball in Japan". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
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