is a Japanese professional basketball player for Utsunomiya Brex of the B.League. A point guard, Tabuse is and . He was the first Japanese-born player to appear in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game. Tabuse has enjoyed popularity in Japan since his high school playing days, when he led his school to three straight national championships, and has been referred to as "the Michael Jordan of Japan" for his celebrity status. Career Early years Tabuse, who was born in Yokohama and grew up in what he calls "a sports family", began playing basketball at the age of nine, because he was not good at baseball and not interested in soccer. He attended Noshiro Technical High School in Akita Prefecture, where he led his team to national championships all three years he was there and lost only a single game. After graduation from high school in March 1999, Tabuse chose to enroll at Brigham Young University-Hawaii for its English as an International Language program. He sat out his first two seasons at BYUH because of eligibility rules and played one season before turning pro. He averaged 7.6 points per game and led the Pacific West Conference with 6.6 assists. Tabuse returned to join the Toyota Alvark, with whom he won the Japan Basketball League Rookie of the Year award for the 2002–03 season. NBA After leaving the Toyota Alvark in 2003, Tabuse became the first Japanese national to play in the NBA's summer league, playing six games in the Rocky Mountain Revue for the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 13 minutes per game. Tabuse's first attempt at making it to the NBA made the headlines in Japan, and drew large media attention. On September 27 of that year, Tabuse joined the Denver Nuggets' training camp, but he was waived on October 24, before the start of the regular season. Tabuse spent the 2003–04 season with the American Basketball Association champion Long Beach Jam, averaging 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and a team-high 6.3 assists per game in 18 games. In 2004, Tabuse joined the Phoenix Suns' training camp and made the opening night roster. He scored seven points in his first NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks on November 3, 2004, becoming on that day the first Japanese player ever to play in an NBA regular season game. However, he was waived by the Suns on