Yuta Tabuse, the first Japanese-born player to appear in an NBA game, has been a solid role player for the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League, which ends its regular season on Saturday.
Appearing in 44 of the Jam's 50 games, Tabuse averaged 6.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while playing 18.7 minutes per game. He made three starts. Bakersfield finished with a 19-31 record, the worst in the Western Conference.
The 26-year-old had 11 points and 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals in the team's regular-season finale on April 14, a 130-112 win over the Colorado 14ers. Two weeks earlier, Tabuse's name changed -- well by accident -- to Abuse.
Here's what happened: For the April 1 contest against the Idaho Stampede, The Bakersfield Californian reported, the teams wore jersey colors of their NBA affiliates -- Bakersfield donned Golden State Warriors colors and Idaho wore Utah Jazz's.
Players names were ironed on to the back of their jerseys. The "T" on the back of Japan's most famous player's jersey dropped off his back during pregame drills. And that's no April Fools' Day joke.