Yasutaka Okayama, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Yasutaka Okayama

Japanese basketball player; tallest player ever drafted by the NBA

Date of Birth: 29-Nov-1954

Place of Birth: Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Profession: basketball player

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Yasutaka Okayama (????, Okayama Yasutaka, born November 29, 1954) is a Japanese former basketball player and coach.
He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 10th pick of the eighth round of the 1981 NBA draft, although he did not sign with them.
At 7'8" (234 cm), he is the tallest player ever to be drafted in NBA history.
Okayama was the only player from Japan drafted in the NBA until 2019, when Gonzaga University Bulldogs forward Rui Hachimura was chosen by the Washington Wizards in the first round. Okayama practiced judo at junior high school and high school, and obtained a second degree black belt.
He started playing basketball when he was eighteen at Osaka University of Commerce.
He attended the University of Portland but never played for their basketball program as he was a project.
After graduation, he joined the basketball club of Sumitomo Metal Sparks.
He represented Japan between 1979 and 1986 before he retired in 1996.
As of 2005, he worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries and was active as a basketball coach.In 1989, he wrote a book for young basketball players.