Ватару Мисака: Первый азиат в NBA

American basketball player (1923–2019)

Wataru Misaka (December 21, 1923 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A 5 feet (2 m) point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non white player and the first player of Asian descent to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), known then as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Misaka played college basketball for the Utah Utes and led the team to win the 1944 NCAA and 1947 NIT championships. He took a two year hiatus between these titles to serve in the United States Army in the American occupation of Japan. Misaka subsequently played three games for the New York Knicks during the 1947–48 season.

Misaka was born a Nisei (second generation Japanese American) in Ogden, Utah, to Tatsuyo and Fusaichi Misaka. He grew up poor with his two younger brothers. His family lived in the basement of his father's barber shop between a bar and a pawn shop in a bad area on 25th Street, which was also rife with prostitution. He recalled the neighborhood as being a "ghetto". Misaka was raised in an era of "virtual apartheid", wrote University of Utah magazine Continuum. Misaka was not served in restaurants because of his ethnicity, and neighbors would cross the street to steer clear of him.

After high school, Misaka continued his education at the same time that many other Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps. Misaka subsequently enrolled at the University of Utah and joined their Utes basketball team. The young team finished with an 18–3 record in the 1943–44 season. They were invited to both the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The team chose the latter because it was more prestigious at the time, and meant a trip to New York City. The team lost to Kentucky in the first round, but was given a chance to play in the NCAA tournament due to Arkansas's withdrawal because of a team accident. The team took advantage of this and won the tournament, winning the championship game over Dartmouth 42–40 in overtime. Two nights later, Misaka and his team played the NIT champions, St. John's, in an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden, where his team won 43–36. Misaka was later drafted for World War II and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. After two years, he returned to the University of Utah and rejoined the team. The team was in position to win their second national tournament in four years after being invited to the eight team NIT Tournament in New York. Utah's narrow victories in the first two rounds put them in the finals where they defeated Kentucky 49–45 to capture the 1947 NIT championship title. Misaka held Wildcats All American guard Ralph Beard to a single point.

Misaka was selected by the New York Knicks in the 1947 BAA Draft. He debuted as the first non Caucasian player in the BAA (later known as the NBA) in 1947, the same year that Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line. There were no press conferences or interviews to commemorate Misaka's first game. Misaka said he did not feel any discrimination from teammates or opposing players during his time with the Knicks, but he did not mingle with everyone. During training camp, he was only close with future Hall of Famer Carl Braun. He and his wife, Kate, had two children. Misaka died at the age of 95 on November 20, 2019, in Salt Lake City.