Why Japan B.League stars haven’t made the NBA: Tominaga, Hawkinson, Baba

Japanese B.League and national team stars Keisei Tominaga, Josh Hawkinson, and Yudai Baba shine domestically but face NBA barriers due to size, role fit, and timing, making Japan a more lucrative and impactful stage for their careers.

The rise of “Akatsuki Japan” on the international stage and making two straight Olympic appearances has turned Japanese basketball players into household names.

While stars like Rui Hachimura and Yuki Kawamura have made the leap to the NBA, a core group of elite talent remains the heartbeat of the domestic B.League.

Yudai Baba, Josh Hawkinson, and Keisei Tominaga are the local faces of Japanese basketball. In other words, they are the marketing engines of their clubs.

Yet, despite their dominance in Asia and flashes of brilliance in FIBA play, they have never been included in or even close to the NBA’s 450-man picture.

This isn’t purely due to a lack of talent, but rather a combination of physical archetypes, specialized roles, and the booming financial security of the Japanese market, as 

Here is a profile of these three stars and the hard truths regarding their NBA prospects.

Credit FIBA

Known as the “Japanese Steph Curry,” the 25-year-old Nebraska product is a marketing powerhouse.

With an Under Armour deal worth $2 million and a similar salary at Levanga Hokkaido, Tominaga is already treated like an NBA superstar in Japan.

His G-League stint with the Noblesville Boom showed he could shoot at a high clip (46.9% from deep), but his transition to the professional 5-on-5 game has highlighted specific hurdles.

The NBA Barrier

Standing at 6’2″ (1.88 m), Tominaga has the height of a point guard, but the skill set of a shooting guard.

In the NBA, which prioritizes 6’5″-6’7″ (around 2.00 m) perimeter players, a 6’2″ guard who doesn’t possess elite playmaking or shifty handles (like his fellow Yuki Kawamura) struggles to stay on the floor.

In the U.S., Tominaga would be targeted relentlessly in pick-and-roll switches. Without elite lateral quickness or length, he becomes a defensive “negative” that his shooting must overcompensate for.

While his range is limitless, his limited role at the Paris Olympics (0.7 PPG) proved that against NBA-level length and physicality, shooting specialists can be erased if they lack the size to finish at the rim or create their own space.

Josh Hawkinson: The Essential Big Man in the Wrong Era

Credit FIBA

“Hawk” is perhaps the most beloved naturalized citizen in the history of Japanese team sports.

Beyond his 18.3 points and 9.7 rebounds at the Paris Olympics, he has mastered the Japanese language and culture, making him the ultimate glue guy for the Sun Rockers Shibuya.

His efficiency was staggering in the 2024 summer, shooting 75% from three (9/12) in Paris, which is a feat few NBA centers could replicate.

Still, the big man has never played outside of Japan. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews, top foreign players in Japan typically earn between $600,000 and $1 million net per season, with naturalized players earning even more.

Hawkinson played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars, where he finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles. But he went undrafted.

The NBA Barrier

The NBA currently has a surplus of 6’10” (2.08 m) bigs who can shoot. To stick in the league at 30 years old, Hawkinson would need to be either an elite rim protector or a hyper-mobile switch defender.

While he is a high-IQ defender in FIBA, he lacks the vertical explosiveness required to contest the Giannis Antetokounmpos or Joel Embiids of the world.

Hawkinson is in his prime. In Japan, he is a franchise cornerstone and a new national hero. In the NBA, he would likely be a two-way energy big at best.

Economically and emotionally, the trade-off doesn’t make sense for a player who has built a legendary legacy in Tokyo.

Yudai Baba: The Athletic Wing in a Super-Sized League

Credit FIBA

At 30, Yudai Baba is the veteran wing for Nagasaki Velca. Averaging 12.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, he is known for his transition dunks and defensive intensity.

He is one of the few Japanese players with extensive international experience, having played in the G League (Texas Legends) and the Australian NBL (Melbourne United).

The NBA Barrier

To be a 6’5″ or 1.96-meter wing (small for the position by NBA standards) in the modern NBA, you must be a 3-and-D specialist.

While Baba is an elite slasher and transition finisher in the B.League, his three-point shooting hasn’t consistently hit the 38-40% mark required to keep NBA defenses honest.

Baba’s greatest strength is his athleticism and ability to attack the rim. However, the NBA is full of 6’7″ and 6’8″ athletes who do the same thing, just with more length. At 30 years old, the developmental window that NBA teams look for has closed.

Baba is more valuable to the B.League than he is to the end of the NBA bench.

Conclusion: The B.League as a Valid Destination

The reason these stars aren’t in the NBA isn’t necessarily a lack of quality, but rather a lack of NBA-specific utility. The NBA looks for unicorns or hyper-specialized role players with specific physical profiles (“championship pieces”).

Tominaga is slightly too small, Baba is slightly too old and inconsistent from deep, and Hawkinson is too vital to Japan to try his luck in America with talent overload.

The B.League has become a lucrative stage, where Japanese stars can earn huge money and shine as the main players in their own stories, rather than being minor figures elsewhere.

Pijus Sapetka began his basketball media career in 2021, building on years of closely following the sport. Since then, he has reported from a variety of basketball events, including the EuroLeague Playoffs, Lithuanian Cups, LKL Finals, EuroCup games, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and Goran Dragic’s Farewell Game. He holds a degree in Journalism & PR.

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