The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris turned heads on the basketball court. Not surprisingly, the American team led by LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry took the gold home.<\/p>\n
That doesn’t mean the rest of the world didn’t put up a fight. The French team with Victor Wembanyama got the silver, while the Nikola Jokic-led Serbian team won bronze.<\/p>\n
One of the big surprises for a lot of viewers was how well the Japanese team played. In particular, point guard Yuki Kawamura shone and for good reason. The Kings should be keeping<\/a> an eye on him.<\/p>\n Yuki Kawamura in the NBA<\/p>\n After several years in Japan’s B.League, Kawamura made the leap to the NBA thanks to his great showing in the 2024 Summer Olympics. His performance likely caught the attention of a few teams, but it was the Memphis Grizzlies that made the move.<\/p>\n The Grizzlies brought him in for the training camp, then signed him to a two-way contract. He didn’t play a lot of main roster minutes, but he made good use of what he got.<\/p>\n After the 2024-2025 season, Kawamura joined the Chicago Bulls for the Summer League. This was quickly followed by the Bulls signing him to another two-way contract.<\/p>\n The Kings need a guy like Kawamura<\/p>\n At 5’8″, Kawamura is nearly a foot under the average height for an NBA player. He more than makes up for that with incredible speed and ball-handling, not to mention exceptional passing. Kawamura has the potential to be an elite playmaker in the league.<\/p>\n On top of that, Kawamura is an explosive player and efficient scorer who is aggressive on both ends of the court. The man tends to rack up the steals.<\/p>\n That is exactly who the Kings need moving forward. One of their biggest gaps<\/a> is in passing and playmaking. Essentially, they are in need of someone who can put their overabundance of shooters to good use. Plus, his defensive prowess is important.<\/p>\n