Official debut! 7 assists in 16 minutes! Welcome, Yuki Kawamura!

His flashy no-look passes perfectly assisted teammates for easy scoring opportunities.

In his comeback debut, Kawamura played around 16 minutes off the bench, going 0 for 3 on shots (0 for 2 from beyond the arc), making 1 free throw to tally 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 7 assists, along with 4 turnovers and 2 fouls, finishing with a +15 rating.He helped the Wind City Bulls crush the San Diego Clippers 131-104 on the road.

It is important to note that the G League free throw rules differ from the NBA regular season; during the first 46 minutes of the game, any foul that would normally result in 1, 2, or 3 free throws only awards a single free throw, and the points scored are counted as 1, 2, or 3 points accordingly.

Last offseason, after failing to secure a contract renewal with the Grizzlies, Kawamura represented the Bulls in the Summer League, averaging 23.9 minutes, 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, which earned him a two-way contract. However, he was later waived due to right calf pain but re-signed a two-way deal with the Bulls recently following his recovery.

That G League game was his first since October 10 last year, so his form was understandably rusty. He had already proven himself in the 24-25 season as a solid G League player when he appeared in 24 games for the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ affiliate, averaging 31 minutes with a well-rounded stat line of 12.4 points, 7.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1 steal per game.

Considering the Bulls currently have many guards like Giddey, White, Dosunmu, and Jones, unless there is an injury crisis or major roster changes in the backcourt, Kawamura is unlikely to see much NBA action and will mostly spend time in the G League.

Since Kawamura has signed a two-way contract with the Bulls again to restart his NBA journey, if he is not waived before February 26 this year, he definitely will not participate in the second window of the World Cup qualifiers between Japan and China.

Standing officially at only 1.70 meters tall, Yuki Kawamura is currently the shortest active player in the NBA, yet he has endured two years competing at the world’s highest basketball stage filled with giants, making him an inspiring role model for ordinary people.