Basketball: Japan’s blossoming B-League eyes world No. 2 spot behind NBA

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Having made rapid strides on and off the court, Japan’s B-League basketball competition has set the lofty goal of becoming second only to the NBA in terms of viewership, business and quality of play.

Attendance swelled to some 4.52 million in Japan’s top two divisions, a 40 percent rise from the previous year, during a landmark 2023-24 season that tipped off shortly after the men’s national team captivated the country as it co-hosted the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The business scale of the B-League and its clubs hit a combined total of 58.8 billion yen ($394 million), tripling from the inaugural 2016-17 season that followed the chaotic amalgamation of two different leagues.

“Basketball is like ‘composite art’ comprising the game itself, entertaining the fans and staging the event,” B-League chairman Shinji Shimada said. “The fact that the quality reached a level where first-time visitors felt it was fun to watch was huge.”

“During our (recent) league reformation, we’ve asked the clubs to ensure attendance at games, while also looking to expand the scale of their business. Each club has been putting their effort over the past five years to gain fans and improve the quality of the product, which has laid the foundation (for the latest figures).”

The 53-year-old believes star signings and newly built venues will further galvanize the competition during the new season, which tipped off on Oct. 3.

“I believe we can provide games with the highest quality ever,” he said. “The ticket sales for the opening games were more than last season and the continuity (of support) from the fans has been above expectation. I’m foreseeing the league developing even more than last season.”

Japan forward Yuta Watanabe’s move to Chiba Jets after six seasons in the NBA has undoubtedly been the biggest pull ahead of the new season, with the club seeing a surge in membership and selling out games in advance. Other teams and their hometowns are also set to benefit from bigger crowds when Chiba comes to play on the road.

The league’s rise in status is reflected in other international signings too, with Johannes Thiemann, a World Cup winner with Germany, joining Gunma Crane Thunders and Brazilian Cristiano Felicio, who played six seasons in the NBA, choosing Sendai 89ERS as his next club.

“They will help raise the standard of the Japanese players,” Watanabe said, while Shimada pointed out that the presence of former NBA players “will attract more top-level overseas players.”

New specialized venues are also set to enhance the experience of visiting fans with Chiba opening LaLa arena Tokyo-Bay, which houses some 11,000, and Nagasaki Velca welcoming around 6,000 at their new Happiness Arena.

A further structural change will see the 2026 launch of the new top-tier B-League Premier, comprising clubs that meet criteria for arena size, attendance and revenue with 22 approved on Thursday.

The league is targeting 7 million spectators and 80 billion yen worth of business by the 2028-29 season, while sending five players to the NBA by 2030, and Shimada, who set three targets during the reformation, is confident the project is on the right path.

“They were clubs realizing regional revitalization, turning profits and contributing to strengthening the Japan national team,” he said. “That resulted in helping us persuade municipalities to build arenas and club owners bringing in firms with financial powers.”

“The Japan national team has been producing goods, and we are where we are now thanks to a combination of many miracles. I think this is a Japanese basketball miracle.”