The Washington Wizards broke new ground on June 20, 2019, when they picked Rui Hachimura at No. 9 in the 2019 NBA Draft ¡ª the first time a Japanese player had ever been chosen in the top 10.
One day later, when Japanese media outlets swarmed the U.S. capital for Hachimura¡¯s introductory news conference, Wizards officials began to realize the impact of his arrival would stretch far beyond Capital One Arena.
The unprecedented interest in Hachimura¡¯s selection led the Wizards to do something no other NBA team before them had attempted: A full-court Japanese-language marketing press, including the creation of a new localized Twitter account.
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