B.LEAGUE Draft 2026: Date & Players Revealed

The Japan Professional Basketball League (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Chairman: Shinji Shimada; hereinafter referred to as “B.LEAGUE”) is pleased to announce the start time and performers for “B.LEAGUE DRAFT 2026” to be held on Thursday, January 29, 2026 at Kanadevia Hall (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) as follows.

◆“B.LEAGUE DRAFT 2026” event overview

◆“B.LEAGUE DRAFT 2026” venue MC

●Chris Sasaki

Basketball analyst.
Fascinated by the NBA he watched when he was 14 years old, he even won an intercollegiate championship while at Aoyama Gakuin University. From the age of 30, he played professional basketball in the BJ League for two seasons. After retiring as an active player, he engaged in a wide range of activities including commentator, reporter, simultaneous interpreter, and writing manuscripts about basketball, and since 2017 he has been an official analyst for the B League. His books include “B League Super Commentary: 50 Tips to Make Watching Real Basketball More Fun (KADOKAWA)” and “NBA Super Analysis: 50 New Common Sense Things You’ll Want to Talk About” (Impress).

●Marina Kawaguchi

free announcer
Born July 3, 1989 in Chiba Prefecture
After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University, he worked as an announcer at Yamagata Broadcasting. Received the Excellence Award in the Newcomer category at the 2014 NNN Announcement Awards. Responsible for producing and narrating news and reporting sites and documentary programs. Even after becoming a freelancer, he is still in charge of anchoring and moderating news programs. He also has deep knowledge of the basketball “B League” and appears as MC on digest programs. He is also active as an electronic organ player at various events.

◆“B.LEAGUE DRAFT 2026” streaming performers

●[MC]Funaoka Misaki

Born in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. He started playing basketball in the fourth grade of elementary school, and after an injury, he became the manager of the men’s basketball team at Meiji University. After graduating, he worked as a radio station announcer and became a freelancer in 2016. Established Light Co., Ltd. in 2021. He is in charge of commentary for over 80 games a year in various categories for men and women, from U15 to the Japanese national team, and also works as an interviewer and program MC. In addition, he provides live coverage of other competitions, narrates, and writes, and has started his own media, “spotlright”, to convey “real” thoughts and information.

●[Commentary]Yusuke Okada

Born in 1984. Born in Tokyo. Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Representative of 3×3 Pro Team TOKYO DIME and DIME School. 30 years of basketball experience, 18 years of professional career. He also participated in many Asian Games as a representative of Japan. He also passed the certified public accountant exam during his time as an active professional athlete, and is active in many fields, including as a 3×3 owner and restaurant manager. He also served as the first president of the Japan Basketball Players Association. He was recognized for his many activities and achievements that contributed to the development of basketball, and received the Distinguished Service Award at the “B.LEAGUE AWARD SHOW 2024-25.” Appointed as B.LEAGUE board member in September 2025.

●[Guest]Takumi Ishida (Kaminari)

A comedy duo consisting of Manabu who is a bokeh and Takumi who is Tsukkomi. Formed in 2011. Both are from Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Ambassador Hokota and Ambassador Ibaraki. He performs jokes called “Dotsuki Tsukkomi” and “Dotsuki Manzai,” where he violently hits Manabu on the head. Currently, there are regular programs on TV Tokyo’s “Dekamori Hunter”, TV Asahi’s “Ibaraki Oshi”, NHKE Television’s “Neko no Me Bijutsukan”, Chukyo Television’s “Coming”, “Kissa Soluseo”, “Cinema BAR”, and Tochigi Television’s “Kaminari no Chari Tabi ~ Season 9”.