NBA deal poised to pay off for Japan's Rakuten after fast break

E-commerce giant hopes for boost from streaming top draft pick Hachimura's debut season

20190830 Hachimura

Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura, left, has lifted basketball's popularity in Japan. (USA TODAY Sports/Reuters)

MASATO SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japanese internet billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani has an eye for flashy sports deals. The spark for his e-commerce group Rakuten's broadcasting contract with the National Basketball Association came not in New York or Tokyo, but in the U.S. state of Idaho.

It was at a Sun Valley resort there in July 2017 that Mikitani met Adam Silver, the lawyer-turned-NBA commissioner.

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