WASHINGTON TIMES


 

Few, if any, NBA mock drafts last summer correctly predicted the Washington Wizards‘ selection at No. 9 overall, but Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said the night of the draft that “we knew it was going to be” Rui Hachimura all along.

The decision is paying dividends for Washington thus far, and not just on the court. Hachimura’s status as Japan’s basketball prodigy is beneficial for business, too.

Last month, the Wizards announced their first sponsorship deal with a Japanese organization: NEC, a computer manufacturer and IT company.

Now, Monumental Sports and Entertainment vice chairman Raul Fernandez and president and chief commercial officer Jim Van Stone will return to Tokyo next week and hold upwards of 20 meetings with other Japanese companies.

It will be their second trip to Japan in six weeks. Fernandez recounted seeing the “electricity” and passion for Hachimura firsthand the last time he visited the country.

“D.C. as everyone knows is a very international city,” Van Stone added, “and I think the opportunity for us to go over there and introduce our brand, the Washington Wizards, to the greater Japan community is very humbling.”

Hachimura is the third Japanese-born player in NBA history, the first to be drafted in the first round and the first to really capture his home country’s attention. It was front-page news in Japan when Hachimura was drafted, and again when he made his NBA debut last month.

“Obviously it’s not my job to do those sponsor things,” Hachimura said. “But as you said, basketball in Japan is getting bigger right now and a lot of people, like companies, big companies, (are) watching and want to have something with the NBA right now. It’s pretty cool to have those sponsors like that as a Wizard.”