Knowing that the Japan Basketball Association (JBA) had no interest in establishing a legitimate professional league several years ago and that he would face fierce resistance from the sport's old boy network, Toshimitsu Kawachi took a courageous step and formed a rival circuit, which included a pair of JBL teams in Niigata and Saitama.
The bj-league, with plenty of success and failure along the way, became this nation's first professional league in 2005. The circuit began play with team in six cities and will field 20 teams next season, making it the largest top-division or single-level league in Japanese pro sports.
Some view Kawachi, the bj-league commissioner, as a pariah, a dirty rotten scoundrel or, to put it bluntly, pond scum for even considering the idea of establishing a pro hoop league.