Akira Jacobs
 Jacobs with the Yokohama B-Corsairs in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 34 – Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | Big West Conference | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | April 13, 2004 Yokohama, Japan | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | |||||||||||||||
| College | Hawaii (2023–present) | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Yokohama B-Corsairs | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Tajon Akira Jacobs (Japanese: ジェイコブス 晶, born April 13, 2004) is a Japanese basketball player for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Big West Conference. He was a member of the Japanese men's basketball team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Early life
[edit]Jacobs was born in Yokohama, Japan,[1] to a Japanese mother and an American father who was serving in the military.[2] He moved with his family to Southern California a few months after he was born.[2] Jacobs started playing basketball at the age of four because his mother was a fan and gave him basketball merchandise.[3] He played on the basketball teams when he attended Redondo Union High School and Dymally High School in California.[4]
Jacobs regularly visited Japan on trips as a child.[2] While on a trip there when he was aged 16, he decided to stay so he could explore new opportunities.[3]
Basketball career
[edit]Early career (2021–2023)
[edit]Jacobs joined the under-18 team of the Yokohama B-Corsairs for the 2021–22 season.[3] He was promoted to the senior professional team as a special designated player and became the youngest player to appear in a first division B.League game when he debuted for the B-Corsairs on November 13, 2021, at the age of 17 years and 7 months.[3] On February 3, 2022, he scored his first points as the youngest player in B.League history to score in a game.[3]
Jacobs appeared at the Basketball Without Borders Asia camp in 2022 and earned the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award.[5] On September 30, 2022, Jacobs joined the NBA Global Academy, a basketball training program at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.[5] He was the first Japanese prospect to join an NBA Academy on a full-time basis.[5]
College career (2023–present)
[edit]On July 14, 2023, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors announced that they had signed Jacobs to become the first Japanese player to join the program.[4] Jacobs chose to play for the Rainbow Warriors because of Hawaii's links to Japanese culture and its closeness to both Japan and California.[6] He averaged 2.4 points in 28 games during his freshman season.[7]
National team career
[edit]Jacobs was a member of the under-18 Japanese men's national team that won the silver medal at the 2022 FIBA U18 Asian Championship;[5] he was injured during the second game and missed the rest of the tournament.[2] He played for the under-19 team at the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup and averaged 17 points per game.[4] Jacobs was included on the extended training camp roster for the Japan senior national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[2]
Jacobs was invited to Japan's basketball training camp for the 2024 Paris Olympics and named to their final roster.[7]
Personal life
[edit]Jacobs holds dual Japanese and American citizenship.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "UH's Jacobs, Raimo headed to 2024 Summer Olympics". University of Hawai'i News. July 8, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Jacobs hungry to finally show his potential for Japan". FIBA. June 26, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Akira Jacobs: Youngest ever to play, score in B.League set to star for Japan". FIBA. August 23, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Men's Basketball Signs Talent Out Of Japan". University of Hawai'i at Manoa. July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Japan's Akira Jacobs joins NBA Global Academy". NBA. September 30, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Chung, Eujin (October 27, 2023). "10 questions with new Rainbow Warrior Akira Jacobs". Manoa Now. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b McInnis, Brian (July 8, 2024). "Hawaii basketball forward Akira Jacobs named to Japan's Olympic roster". Spectrum News. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Hawaii basketball team reels in wing from Japan". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. May 18, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 2004 births
- Living people
- American men's basketball players
- American sportspeople of Japanese descent
- Basketball players from Los Angeles
- Forwards (basketball)
- Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball players
- Japanese men's basketball players
- Japanese people of American descent
- Sportspeople from Yokohama
- Yokohama B-Corsairs players
- Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic basketball players for Japan
- 21st-century American sportsmen