By the numbers: Facts and figures about the league
0- number of Tokyo Apache home games before Jan. 6, 2011, last season. In short, that means October, November and December featured no games for the team in Tokyo, or even in Kanto. Call it the single greatest error in league history, a season in which the league's first ex-NBA head coach (Bob Hill), NBA prospect (Jeremy Tyler), ex-NBA center (Robert Swift) and the No. 1 most popular Japanese player (Cohey Aoki) gave the team a number of terrific selling points in the capital city. Instead, Tokyo's season will go down in the annals as a lost opportunity, a colossal failure, a nightmare and a true disgrace in upper management. It was a prime example of how a new ownership group can destroy a team's reputation and its fan base.
2- number of bj-league players, active at the time, who have suited up for the Japan national team: Former Shimane Susanoo Magic guard Takumi Ishizaki (he'll play in Germany in 2011-12) and Hamamatsu Higahimikawa Phoenix center Atsuya Ota.
4 – Since joining the league in 2007, the number of consecutive seasons that Michael Parker, who has left the Rizing Fukuoka to play for the Shimane Susanoo Magic, has led the league in steals.
6- Number of Final Fours former Osaka Evessa teammates Lynn Washington and Jeff Newton have both played in. Both Indiana University products have been fixtures in the league since Day One. Washington has led Osaka to the championship weekend showcase every spring since 2006, while Newton turned the Ryukyu Golden Kings into championship contenders the day he switched teams for the 2008-09 season.
20- Counting coaches under contract for 2011-12, the number of foreigners who have served as interim head coaches or head coaches since the league's inception.
33- Number of Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix regular-season losses in their first three seasons in the bj-league. The team amassed 117 wins and two championships from 2008-11 under Kazuo Nakamura, who stepped aside after title No. 2 last spring and returned to his native Akita Prefecture to lead the Happinets.
40/30- Two frontcourt standouts have had 40-point, 30-rebound efforts in league history: Ryukyu’s Jeff Newton (Nov. 22, 2008) and former Toyama big man Kirby Lemons (Oct. 24, 2009).
42- Age of longtime NBA guard and former LSU All-American scoring sensation Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf during the Western Conference playoffs last season.
50- Golden Kings big man Jeff Newton’s 50-point game in the Western Conference final on May 16, 2009, is the single greatest individual accomplishment in league history.
70.4- Percentage of regular-season games the Evessa won with Kensaku Tennichi at the helm (2005-10).
77- Number of losses by the Takamatsu Five Arrows over the past two seasons (total 100 games played).
79– Seven-foot-nine giant Sun Ming Ming’s jersey number during the 2008-09 season with the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix.
90- Cohey Aoki’s approximate free-throw shooting percentage during his six seasons in the league. His shooting form at the line is the stuff of legends.
110- Number of games under. 500 the Toyama Grouses have been during the regular season since joining the league in 2006. Totals: 61 wins, 171 losses (232 total games). That's awful basketball.
Posted on Sept. 14, 2011
2- number of bj-league players, active at the time, who have suited up for the Japan national team: Former Shimane Susanoo Magic guard Takumi Ishizaki (he'll play in Germany in 2011-12) and Hamamatsu Higahimikawa Phoenix center Atsuya Ota.
4 – Since joining the league in 2007, the number of consecutive seasons that Michael Parker, who has left the Rizing Fukuoka to play for the Shimane Susanoo Magic, has led the league in steals.
6- Number of Final Fours former Osaka Evessa teammates Lynn Washington and Jeff Newton have both played in. Both Indiana University products have been fixtures in the league since Day One. Washington has led Osaka to the championship weekend showcase every spring since 2006, while Newton turned the Ryukyu Golden Kings into championship contenders the day he switched teams for the 2008-09 season.
20- Counting coaches under contract for 2011-12, the number of foreigners who have served as interim head coaches or head coaches since the league's inception.
33- Number of Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix regular-season losses in their first three seasons in the bj-league. The team amassed 117 wins and two championships from 2008-11 under Kazuo Nakamura, who stepped aside after title No. 2 last spring and returned to his native Akita Prefecture to lead the Happinets.
40/30- Two frontcourt standouts have had 40-point, 30-rebound efforts in league history: Ryukyu’s Jeff Newton (Nov. 22, 2008) and former Toyama big man Kirby Lemons (Oct. 24, 2009).
42- Age of longtime NBA guard and former LSU All-American scoring sensation Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf during the Western Conference playoffs last season.
50- Golden Kings big man Jeff Newton’s 50-point game in the Western Conference final on May 16, 2009, is the single greatest individual accomplishment in league history.
70.4- Percentage of regular-season games the Evessa won with Kensaku Tennichi at the helm (2005-10).
77- Number of losses by the Takamatsu Five Arrows over the past two seasons (total 100 games played).
79– Seven-foot-nine giant Sun Ming Ming’s jersey number during the 2008-09 season with the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix.
90- Cohey Aoki’s approximate free-throw shooting percentage during his six seasons in the league. His shooting form at the line is the stuff of legends.
110- Number of games under. 500 the Toyama Grouses have been during the regular season since joining the league in 2006. Totals: 61 wins, 171 losses (232 total games). That's awful basketball.
Posted on Sept. 14, 2011
