Paris 2024 men's basketball team preview: Japan

Japan's men's basketball team are on a bit of a roll.

After competing at the FIBA World Cup 2023 and earning qualification to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Akatsuki Japan (as the team is commonly referred to) will now play in back-to-back Olympic tournaments for the first time since Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976.

Here's a closer look at the key numbers behind the team, as well as the top players who will need to excel if Japan is to surpass their best-ever finish of 9th at the Games.

• Japan coach Tom Hovasse plots Paris 2024 masterpiece: "We want to get out of the group"

*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.

Japan's key numbers

World Ranking: 26th

Olympic Games

• Appearances: 7
• Medals: None

FIBA World Cup

• Appearances: 6
• Medals: None

FIBA Asia Cup

• Appearances: 28
• Medals: Gold (1965, 1971), Silver (1969, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1997), Bronze (1960, 1967, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1991, 1995)

Asian Games

• Apperances: 19
• Medals: Silver (1951, 1962), Bronze (1954, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2014)

Will Japan reach the knockout stage at Paris 2024?

Prior to reaching the FIBA 2023 World Cup last year, Japan were in the midst of a particularly rough stretch, having failed to qualify for consecutive international tournaments for over 50 years.

Though the primary goal at that tournament must have been to secure as high a finish as possible, the team must have been aware that securing a ticket for Paris 2024 would also mean back-to-back Olympic apperances for the first time since Japan took part at the Munich 1972 Games and Montreal 1976 Games.

Sure enough, a 3-2 record (including a vital 80-71 win over Cape Verde in their final game) was enough for Japan to finish in 19th place and qualify directly for the Olympics as the top team from Asia.

When looking at Japan's record at the Games, one statistic jumps off the page: with the exception of the 1936 Games in Berlin (when the third round acted as an elimination for losers with no consolation round), Japan have never reached the knockout stage.

In fact, Japan have accumulated just 13 wins in their history at the Games, having competed in seven Olympic tournaments.

However, with Yuta Watanabe leading a revamped squad and the possible inclusion of Rui Hachimura of the Los Angeles Lakers, can Japan rewrite history and finally porgress past the group stage?

As Watanabe and Hachimura go, so does Japan

There may not be a team at Paris 2024 that will rely on two players (if selected) more heavily than Japan.

Yes, this was a team that was able to win three games at the World Cup without one of its top stars in Hachimura, but such is the impact of the 6-foot-8 (2.03m) forward that his inclusion on the Olympic roster may mean the difference between advancing to the quarter-finals and another early exit.

This is even more true when you consider the opponents Japan will face in their group: World Cup champions Germany, Tokyo 2020 silver medallists France, and the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia. If they want to have any hope of advancing, they'll have to take down one of either Germany or France—an extremely dauting task, on paper.

But in Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe, Japan do have star-calibre players who can change a game.

Hachimura is coming off one of his strongest seasons in the NBA in years, posting a career-high in games played (68) while recording 13.6 points and 4.3 assists per game as part of an Lakers team that won the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.

The 26-year-old was a force for Japan at his debut Olympics in 2020, leading the team in points per game (22.3) and grabbing 6.7 rebounds per contest.

Equally important to Japan is Watanabe.

The 29-year-old saw a dip in his minutes and production this season in the NBA, but has always stepped up when called upon by the national team; through three tournaments (the 2019 World Cup, Tokyo 2020 and 2023 World Cup), the 6-foot-8 (2.03m) forward has averaged 16.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and acted as the vocal leader of the team.

There is still uncertainity over Hachimura's participation at the Games this summer, but if he does decline an invitation to play, look for Joshua Hawkinson to take on a bigger role. The American-born Japanese pro excelled at the 2023 World Cup averaging a double-double with 21 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Japan's group at Paris 2024

Japan have been drawn into Group B along with France, World Cup champions Germany and the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) Latvia, with the countries competing in that tournament being Latvia, Georgia, Philippines, Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro.

Japan's Group Phase Games

vs Germany (July 27)
vs France (July 30)
vs Winner OQT Latvia (August 2)

Read more: FIBA World Cup 2023: Unexpected stars, who has secured an Olympic quota & teams to look out for ahead of Paris 2024