| Yasutaka Okayama | |
| Position: | Center |
| Birth Date: | November 29, 1954 |
| Birth Place: | Mashiki, Kumamoto |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Height Ft: | 7 |
| Height In: | 8 |
| Weight Lb: | 330 |
| High School: | Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto, Kumamoto) |
| College: | Osaka University of Commerce |
| Draft Year: | 1981 |
| Draft Round: | 8 |
| Draft Pick: | 171 |
| Draft Team: | Golden State Warriors |
| Career Start: | 1979 |
| Career End: | 1990 |
| Coach Start: | 1993 |
| Years1: | 1979–1990 |
| Team1: | Sumitomo Metal Sparks |
| Cyears1: | 1993–1995 |
| Cteam1: | Sumitomo Metal Sparks (assistant) |
| Cyears2: | 1996–1999 |
| Cteam2: | Osaka University of Commerce (assistant) |
| Highlights: | As player:
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is a Japanese former professional basketball player and coach.[1] He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 171st pick of the eighth round of the 1981 NBA draft, although he did not sign with them.[2] [3] At, he is the tallest player to be drafted in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Okayama was the only player from Japan drafted in the NBA until Rui Hachimura was selected in the 2019 NBA draft.
Okayama practiced judo at junior high school and high school, and obtained a second degree black belt. He started playing basketball when he was eighteen at Osaka University of Commerce. In 1975, when his height was about, he was recruited by the University of Portland; he spent two years there, but a medical check revealed gigantism and he never played for the varsity team.[4] After graduation, he joined the Sumitomo Metal Sparks basketball club. He represented Japan between 1979 and 1986 before he retired in 1996.
After being selected in the 1981 NBA draft, Okayama opted to stay in Japan.[5]
As of 2005, he worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries and was active as a basketball coach.
Okayama wrote a book for young basketball players in 1989.[6]