December 16, 2004 after playing in four games and rejoined the Jam for the remainder of the season. Suns assistant coach Marc Iavaroni said of Tabuse: "I liked his energy, I liked his courage." In 2005, Tabuse signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, but was waived before the start of the regular season. That fall, Tabuse appeared on a limited edition cover of NBA Live video game in Japan, even though he did not play a single NBA regular season game. That year, he was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League (D-League) and averaged 6.5 points and 4.0 assists in 34 games before he was waived on March 16, 2006. Michael Cooper, former NBA player and Tabuse's coach with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, said of him, "He automatically changes the game because of his quickness and distributing the ball. He's the best fundamental player I've seen around in a long time." In 2006, Tabuse decided to forsake an opportunity to play with the Japanese national team in the world championships that took place between August 19 to September 3 across five cities in Japan, and instead play with the Dallas Mavericks' summer league team. In November 2006, Tabuse was drafted into the NBA D-League with the 11th pick of the third round (35th overall) by the Bakersfield Jam. In November 2007, Tabuse was cut by the Bakersfield Jam before the 2007–08 season. On December 8, 2007, Tabuse was acquired by the Anaheim Arsenal of the D-League, and he made his debut on December 9 against the Bakersfield Jam, scoring 4 points and adding 3 assists in almost 13 minutes of play. For the 2007–08 season, Tabuse averaged 4.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 39 games. In July 2008, Tabuse joined the New Jersey Nets' squad in the Orlando Pro Summer League. Return to Japan In August 2008, Tabuse signed for Japan Basketball League side Link Tochigi Brex. Tochigi's head coach Mitsuhiko Kato was in charge of the basketball club of Noshiro Technical High School when Tabuse played for the school. In April 2009, Tabuse was named to the 22-man roster for the Japan national basketball team. The team played at the FIBA Asia Championship for Men. In May 2009, ESPN reported that Tabuse would leave the national team after receiving an invitation by the Dallas Mavericks to compete in their summer camp. In 2010, his