INDIANAPOLIS — Johnny Carpenter has seen what this looks like up close.
He's seen the vision, the no-look, behind-the-back passes, the dazzling handle and the tenacious on-the-ball defense. He's seen the way a 5-foot-7 point guard who also happens to be a national hero in his homeland can engage and embolden a team of much larger men and electrify arenas.
"I got to experience Yukimania," Carpenter, Pacers ******* istant coach and head coach of their NBA Summer League team, said after practice Tuesday.
Indeed, Carpenter was an ******* istant coach on the Memphis Grizzlies staff in the 2024-25 season when Pacers Summer League point guard Yuki Kawamura played his first season in the United States after displaying his magic on the international stage in the 2024 Olympics in Paris with ******* an. The ******* anese went 0-3 in group play but they took Victor Wembanyama and eventual silver medalist France to overtime and Kawamura was a big reason why. In those three games he averaged 20.3 points and 7.7 ******* ists per game and he posted 29 points, seven rebounds and six ******* ists against France in a game when the opposing superstar was nearly 2 feet taller than him.
Less than a month after the Olympics ended, Kawamura signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies. During training camp, they converted it to a two-way deal. He played just 93 NBA minutes as a rookie, but fans still pleaded for him to get on the floor because he was so productive when he was there, averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 ******* ists per 36 minutes. Meanwhile in the G League with the Memphis Hustle, he averaged 12.7 points and 8.4 highlight-reel level ******* ists per game.
He's seen the vision, the no-look, behind-the-back passes, the dazzling handle and the tenacious on-the-ball defense. He's seen the way a 5-foot-7 point guard who also happens to be a national hero in his homeland can engage and embolden a team of much larger men and electrify arenas.
"I got to experience Yukimania," Carpenter, Pacers ******* istant coach and head coach of their NBA Summer League team, said after practice Tuesday.
Indeed, Carpenter was an ******* istant coach on the Memphis Grizzlies staff in the 2024-25 season when Pacers Summer League point guard Yuki Kawamura played his first season in the United States after displaying his magic on the international stage in the 2024 Olympics in Paris with ******* an. The ******* anese went 0-3 in group play but they took Victor Wembanyama and eventual silver medalist France to overtime and Kawamura was a big reason why. In those three games he averaged 20.3 points and 7.7 ******* ists per game and he posted 29 points, seven rebounds and six ******* ists against France in a game when the opposing superstar was nearly 2 feet taller than him.
Less than a month after the Olympics ended, Kawamura signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Grizzlies. During training camp, they converted it to a two-way deal. He played just 93 NBA minutes as a rookie, but fans still pleaded for him to get on the floor because he was so productive when he was there, averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 ******* ists per 36 minutes. Meanwhile in the G League with the Memphis Hustle, he averaged 12.7 points and 8.4 highlight-reel level ******* ists per game.
27 days ago
