NEW YORK (USA) - Draft night is still an event of dreams for any basketball player. To hear your name called is a one-in-a-life time moment and one that these ambitious ballers will cherish forever.

We’re taking the time to look back at one of the best talents that passed through the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers before getting called up to the stage to shake Adam Silver’s hand.

That player is, of course, Rui Hachimura, the Akatsuki Five superstar that was well featured in Japan’s national team program before becoming the ninth draft pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

After many years of playing on Japan’s youth national teams whether it was at the U16 Asian Championship 2013, U17 World Cup 2014, to the U19 World Cup 2017, Hachimura finally made his senior national team debut in 2019. His first game turned out to be a historic one with Japan upsetting Australia, 79-78, on 29 June 2018.

The 2.05M (6’9”) forward didn’t disappoint with 24 points and 7 rebounds on 10-18 shooting from the field to help get an emotional victory for the Akatsuki Five. The win also broke a four-game losing streak and started an eight-game winning streak, the turning point that propelled Japan to a World Cup 2019 berth.

Hachimura ended up averaging 21.5 points and 6.0 rebounds through 4 games the Asian Qualifiers which more or less helped pad his already solid resume for the 2019 Draft. Just a bit shy of a one-year anniversary of his senior national team debut, on 20 June, 2019, Hachimura became the highest drafted player ever from Japan to the Washington Wizards.

From there, it’s been World Cup and Olympic games appearances for the young star.

The 24-year-old is hardly the only player who has played in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers to have been drafted or to have NBA experience. Basketball fans have been treated to watching the likes of Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi, Hamed Haddadi, Arsalan Kazemi, Matthew Dellavedova, Thon Maker, and even Rui’s teammate Yuta Watanabe, but so far, it’s only been Hachimura who has played through the Asian Qualifiers before being drafted.

In this year’s Draft, while we didn’t get to see any players that have played in the Asian Qualifiers so far get selected, we saw some talents that have played in Asian competitions get their names called.

The highlight would be Australia’s Dyson Daniels, who made his Boomers debut in the Asia Cup 2022 Qualifiers even before playing for the Emus at the U19 World Cup in 2021. Daniels was selected with the 8th pick to the New Orleans Pelicans, making it a second straight NBA Draft where a player who had previously played in the Asia Cup Qualifiers get picked (Josh Giddey was selected 6th by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2021).

Aside of Daniels, fellow Australian Luke Travers was selected with the 56th pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Travers had represented Australia with the youth national teams at both the U16 Asian Championship 2018 and the U17 World Cup 2018.

Even though there were no players from the Asian Qualifiers in this year’s NBA Draft, fans should make sure to still keep an eye on the players that are playing right now as there are some bright and hopeful prospects. Whether it’s Bahrain’s Muzamil Hamooda, Indonesia’s Derrick Michael Xzavierro, Lebanon’s Yousef Khayat, or some of India’s up-and-coming talents, there’s plenty of potential to be unearthed.

For now, the list of NBA Draft picks that passed through the Asian Qualifiers before their selection is still limited to only Rui Hachimura. However, make no mistake that it’s a list that will keep on growing in the future without a doubt.

FIBA