When “Slam Dunk” Meets Reality: In the Dictionary of “Genius”, There is No Impossible
Today, we’ll talk about a truly remarkable individual, one of the most prominent athletes of 2024—Yuki Kawamura, a Japanese basketball player. Just last month, the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies signed Kawamura to a two-way contract, making him the fourth Japanese player in history to enter the NBA.
Why is Yuki Kawamura so popular?
Apart from his skills, the main reason is that he’s, well, a bit short. In Slam Dunk, there’s a character named Ryota Miyagi, the point guard of the team. Miyagi is 1.68 meters tall, while Kawamura stands at 1.72 meters. He has thus been dubbed the real-life version of Miyagi Ryota.
But what’s even more significant is Kawamura’s inspiring journey. At the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Kawamura led the Japanese team to an incredible comeback against Finland after trailing by 18 points in the first three quarters, marking the first victory for an Asian team over a European team in 15 years. In the final quarter, Kawamura scored 15 points, hitting 4 three-pointers, one of which was made over a Finnish player who was 40 cm taller than him.
Kawamura’s personal journey resembles that of a blood-pumping anime character. Since the age of 7, he set his sights on becoming Japan’s top player. From then on, he and his family embarked on a journey of relentless practice to achieve this goal. Lacking height advantage and having limited shooting space on the court, Kawamura had to shoot faster and more accurately. Starting in 4th grade, he set a goal to take 500 shots a day; by 6th grade, he raised that to 1000. In high school, Kawamura made it a rule to hit 600 shots per training session, and those 600 shots had to be made while moving or under physical pressure. Before every training session ended, he would demand himself to hit 10 consecutive three-pointers. If he missed the 10th one, he would start over.
In 6th grade, Kawamura led his elementary school team to a championship. In high school, he was called “Japan’s top high school player” and won 6 national championships in three years. At the age of 18, Kawamura was selected for Japan’s top B.League, becoming the youngest player and scorer in the league’s history, even though his height was only 1.69 meters at the time. This marked the beginning of his journey toward international success.
Now, standing from the audience’s perspective, a 1.72-meter Japanese player making it to the NBA seems like a long shot. So, how did this all happen?
Next, let’s discuss the three driving forces behind Yuki Kawamura’s success, which may also provide some inspiration for your own journey.
The First Driving Force: Yuki Kawamura Himself
There’s a line in Slam Dunk where the character says, “Coach, I want to play basketball.” Yes, it’s just the love for basketball, not driven by any ulterior motives. Kawamura had this same passion as a child.
Kawamura’s training journey may sound inspiring, but looking closer, you’ll see how grueling and painful the process was. For example, shooting 1000 shots a day—do you think that’s something most people could endure? And for most of the time, Kawamura had to compete with taller players, making it even harder for him. So, how did Kawamura endure these exhausting practices? The key lies in one mental state: harmonious passion.
Psychologists divide passion into two types. One is called “harmonious passion,” meaning you engage in something you love, and you derive joy from the activity itself. The other is called “obsessive passion,” where you care more about the results than the activity itself. In other words, harmonious passion is when you don’t think about what you should do but focus on doing what you love.
Many top athletes often say they enjoy the process of the sport itself. For instance, when Kawamura sets himself a goal to make 600 shots, he only cares about making those 600 shots, not about finishing the task as quickly as possible. When he was the captain of his high school basketball team, facing distracted teammates, he didn’t force them back into training. Instead, he learned about the reasons for their distraction and used the goal of “participating in the national tournament” to convince them. He understood the huge difference between playing basketball because you’re forced to and playing because you love it. Furthermore, he turned down the highest salary offer in Japan’s basketball history, choosing instead an unguaranteed training camp contract to go to the U.S., all for the love of basketball itself. This is the essence of harmonious passion.
In other words, true experts are those who can enjoy the activity itself.
The Second Driving Force: The Reform of Japanese Basketball
Yes, the emergence of strong players is often not entirely random but the result of systematic improvements.
Under normal circumstances, at 1.69 meters tall, Kawamura would probably not have even made the school team, let alone the professional league. However, Japan’s professional league has a policy that allows elite players to be recruited even if they don’t meet the usual height requirements. This is part of the ongoing reform of the entire Japanese basketball system.
While Japan has Slam Dunk, basketball has never been the mainstream sport there. Baseball is the country’s top sport, followed by soccer, and basketball has always been overshadowed. The system was also very disorganized. As far back as 2008, Japan even split into two professional leagues, violating FIBA’s rules. In 2014, Japan’s national team was banned from international competitions and nearly expelled from FIBA.
Then came the reform of Japanese basketball, led by Saburo Kawabuchi, a legendary figure in Japanese sports who had previously established the country’s soccer league system.
In 2015, at the age of 78, Kawabuchi became the chairman of Japan’s Basketball Association, and he implemented two major reforms:
- Revitalizing the professional league: Japan formed a new professional basketball league, the B.League, and required all the original teams to leave the old league and join the new one. The Basketball Association also established new rules regarding team qualifications, player salaries, and foreign players.
- Improving the player development system: The Basketball Association organized many youth competitions and started identifying young talent early on. For example, they created “basketball family” activities and collaborated with communities to help youth players train. The B.League also launched an “Active Children Program” where clubs regularly interact with kindergartens to provide basketball education.
This has made basketball more accessible to people, and top talents like Kawamura have emerged as a result.
The Third Driving Force: The Evolution of Basketball Itself
Basketball has evolved, and intelligence and strategy are now becoming much more important than physical prowess.
In the past 20 years, basketball has undergone a fundamental change. In 2001, NBA teams used to take shots from all over the court. By 2020, the most popular shooting zones were near the basket or behind the three-point line, and mid-range shots almost disappeared.
In the past, hitting a three-pointer was a rare, celebratory event, but today, it’s one of the most common ways to score. Over the past 20 years, the proportion of three-point shots in total attempts has increased from 17% to 40%, with 40% of teams now attempting over 40% of their shots from beyond the arc.
Thus, today’s basketball has found the optimal strategy: through overall teamwork, players are positioned where they can score most effectively, especially from three-point range. In this system, even if you’re shorter, as long as your shooting is reliable, you still have a chance to become a key player.
Kawamura, despite his height disadvantage, plays as a point guard, a position that serves as the “brain” of the team. This position allows him to see the whole game, control the tempo, and dictate the strategy. When he went to the U.S., he intentionally didn’t bring a translator, as he believed communication on the basketball court is crucial, and using a translator would reduce his communication skills, which could negatively impact his performance.
The Conclusion: A New Era of Competition
In a highly competitive field, the optimal solutions to most problems have already been found. At this point, what separates the winners from the losers is execution. The methods are clear, the principles are open, and the ability to execute determines who stays on the court and who gets eliminated.
This reality applies to many sports. Take high jump, for example: earlier athletes would clear the bar by leaping over it, just like an ordinary jump. It wasn’t until 1968, when Fosbury used the back-clearance method and won the gold medal in the Mexico Olympics, that the world began to follow suit. Now, back-clearance is the only technique used.
In table tennis, the straight grip was once popular, but researchers later discovered that the reverse grip is more effective in both offense and defense. Today, the majority of table tennis players use the reverse grip.
To quote Wan Weigang: “We need to rethink the ‘winner-takes-all’ phenomenon. Now it’s not about who the person is, but about the method. If a method is proven to be the best, everyone will adopt it.”
This reality divides people into two groups: those who are “on the boat,” having mastered the
method, and those who are “left behind.” It’s not that innovation isn’t possible, but to innovate, you must first get on the boat.
As Hanamichi Sakuragi says in Slam Dunk: “In the dictionary of genius, there is no such word as impossible.”
