The First Non-White Player In The NBA Was An Asian American
A little known fact of American history
The NBA was originally the BAA.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) of today came into existence after the Basketball Association of America (BAA) had been formed.
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Basketball Association (NBA). [Wikipedia]
It is well known that Jackie Robinson was the first African American and first non-white player allowed in major league baseball. The major professional sports were segregated, and Black people had a separate league before Robinson was accepted to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He went on to have a storied career in major league baseball.
A little known part of American history is that Wat Misaka, an American of Japanese heritage from Utah, was the first non-white player in the BAA which became the NBA. Wat was drafted by the New York Knicks professional basketball team in 1947, the same year as Jackie Robinson started playing in major league baseball. Wat was a 5'7" guard who was athletic and quick.
Wat had only a short time with the New York Knicks before being cut from the team. He was given little explanation about why he was being let go, but it was shortly after the end of World War II. There was still a great deal of discrimination and prejudice against people of Japanese heritage in the United States. Perhaps he did not do that well in his trial period or racism could have been a factor.
New York fans were praised by Wat as being kind to him. When they played other teams, he did face discrimination and name calling from some of their fans because of his ethnicity as a Japanese American.
Wat Misaka has the distinction of being the first non-white player in what is now the NBA.
Wat was a star basketball player at the University of Utah.
Born on December 21, 1923, in Ogden, Utah, of parents who were immigrants to the United States from Japan, Wat was raised in Ogden by his mother after his father died. He was the oldest of three boys. Wat passed away on November 20, 2019, at the age of 95.
Wat excelled in sports and played basketball on his high school team. He was then on his junior college team before transferring to the University of Utah where he was a star on their basketball team.
After the University of Utah won the 1944 NCAA tournament in New York City, Wat had a letter waiting for him when he returned home. It said he was being drafted into the U.S. Army. He served in the occupation of Japan after World War II ended.
Then Wat returned to the University of Utah where he again joined the school’s basketball team. After they won the NIT championship at Madison Square Garden in 1947, Wat was drafted by the New York Knicks.
After the short stint with the Knicks ended, Wat was invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He declined as he decided to return to Utah and finish his college degree at the University of Utah.
Although his story was not well known, it became somewhat better known after New York actors and playwrights, Christine Toy Johnson and her husband Bruce Johnson, heard Wat’s story and made a documentary about him. They arranged for him to be honored at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2009.
When Jeremy Lin gained fame in the NBA, some thought he was the first player of Asian descent in professional basketball. Wat’s story became known, and Wat received credit for being the first non-white player in the NBA.
Steph Curry was in Utah with the San Francisco Warriors to play against the Utah Jazz so he expressed a desire to meet Wat Misaka. They met when Wat was 95 years old shortly before Wat passed away. Steph Curry and Wat Misaka are two great athletes of different eras. A video of them: https://www.facebook.com/NBAonESPN/videos/714254385861024/.
Some stories about Wat are included in the book, The Japanese American Story as Told Through a Collection of Speeches and Articles, www.thejapaneseamericanstory.com
The DVD of his story is: Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story produced by Bruce Johnson and Christine Toy Johnson.
[Note: This story is similar to one written for Engage which talked about remembering Wat Misaka as a good personal friend. This is an attempt to have more people become familiar with his story and the role he played in the history of major league sports in the USA. Today, December 21, 2023, would have been Wat’s 100th birthday.
Thank you for reading.