, sometimes called Maikeru Takahashi, is a Japanese-born American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who was considered in the mid-1990s to early 2000s one of the best players in Asia, a prolific scorer and rebounder, dominating the opposition through his athleticism and technique.

Biography

Takahashi was born in

Kokubunji, Tokyo 250px, Ruins of Musashi Kokubun-ji temple is a city located in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 126,791, and a population density of 11,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city ...

to Ikuko Takahashi, a Japanese woman who now works as a computer programmer in Missouri and American actor Willie Dorsey who died sometime before 1995. Michael moved to the United States when he was 2 years old, settling in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he started playing basketball in high school. He is married and has two children. It was revealed that Takahashi has one younger brother, actor Jun Soejima.

Professional career

After playing in college for

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as o ...

he moved to Japan after playing there in the

Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a Blend word, portmanteau of the wor ...

. On arrival he adopted his mother's surname of Takahashi to integrate. Takahashi joined Isuzu Motors of the

Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the J ...

for the 1995–1996 season and quickly established himself in Japanese basketball, winning the league title and being awarded rookie of the year and the first of many All-Star designations. From then on he would be a vital element of the team that won all but two titles until it withdrew from the league due to financial difficulties in 2002. Takahashi would later repeat that success at

Toyota Alvark Alvark Tokyo is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Tokyo. The team, which is sponsored by Toyota, currently plays in the Japanese B.League. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. Founded as Toyota Pacers in 1948, ...

where he won the title a further three times before joining his current team the

Aisin Seahorses Seahorses Mikawa is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Kariya and sponsored by Aisin. The team was founded in 1947. The team played in the National Basketball League (Japan), National Basketball League. The current head coach is ...

. He won his ninth championship in his first year with the Aisin seahorses.

National team

Takahashi became a mainstay on the Japanese national team starting with the 1995 Asian Championship where he helped the team win a bronze medal. They would do better at the next edition losing the final to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

which qualified them for the

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

for the first time in 31 years. At the 1998 tournament in Athens they were eliminated at the group stage, losing all their games although Takahashi finished as his team's best scorer with 16.4 PPG."Maikeru Takahashi player profile"
''

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

''. Retrieved on 16 February 2015. After playing in the 1999 Asian Championship, the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

and the 2003 Asian Championship (missing the 2001 edition due to club interference) without repeating earlier successes, his distinguished international career ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Michael 1974 births Living people Akita Isuzu/Isuzu Motors Lynx/Giga Cats players Alvark Tokyo players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2002 Asian Games Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball players Japanese men's basketball players Japanese people of African-American descent Niigata Albirex BB players SeaHorses Mikawa players Small forwards Sportspeople from Tokyo Metropolis People from Kokubunji, Tokyo 1998 FIBA World Championship players Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games basketball players for Japan Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade 20th-century American sportsmen