![]() Jacobs with the
Yokohama B-Corsairs in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
No. 34 – Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||
League | Big West Conference | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born | Yokohama, Japan | April 13, 2004||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | |||||||||||||||
College | Hawaii (2023–present) | ||||||||||||||
Playing career | 2021–present | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
2021–2022 | Yokohama B-Corsairs | ||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Tajon Akira Jacobs ( Japanese: ジェイコブス 晶, born April 13, 2004) is a Japanese basketball player for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Big West Conference. He is a member of the Japanese men's basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Jacobs was born in Yokohama, Japan, [1] to a Japanese mother and an American father who was serving in the military. [2] He moved with his family to Southern California a few months after he was born. [2] Jacobs started playing basketball at the age of four because his mother was a fan and gave him basketball merchandise. [3] He played on the basketball teams when he attended Redondo Union High School and Dymally High School in California. [4]
Jacobs regularly visited Japan on trips as a child. [2] While on a trip there when he was aged 16, he decided to stay so he could explore new opportunities. [3]
Jacobs joined the under-18 team of the Yokohama B-Corsairs for the 2021–22 season. [3] He was promoted to the senior professional team as a special designated player and became the youngest player to appear in a first division B.League game when he debuted for the B-Corsairs on November 13, 2021, at the age of 17 years and 7 months. [3] On February 3, 2022, he scored his first points as the youngest player in B.League history to score in a game. [3]
Jacobs appeared at the Basketball Without Borders Asia camp in 2022 and earned the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award. [5] On September 30, 2022, Jacobs joined the NBA Global Academy, a basketball training program at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. [5] He was the first Japanese prospect to join an NBA Academy on a full-time basis. [5]
On July 14, 2023, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors announced that they had signed Jacobs to become the first Japanese player to join the program. [4] Jacobs chose to play for the Rainbow Warriors because of Hawaii's links to Japanese culture and its closeness to both Japan and California. [6] He averaged 2.4 points in 28 games during his freshman season. [7]
Jacobs was a member of the under-18 Japanese men's national team that won the silver medal at the 2022 FIBA U18 Asian Championship; [5] he was injured during the second game and missed the rest of the tournament. [2] He played for the under-19 team at the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup and averaged 17 points per game. [4] Jacobs was included on the extended training camp roster for the Japan senior national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. [2]
Jacobs was invited to Japan's basketball training camp for the 2024 Paris Olympics and named to their final roster. [7]
Jacobs holds dual Japanese and American citizenship. [8]
![]() Jacobs with the
Yokohama B-Corsairs in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
No. 34 – Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||
League | Big West Conference | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born | Yokohama, Japan | April 13, 2004||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | |||||||||||||||
College | Hawaii (2023–present) | ||||||||||||||
Playing career | 2021–present | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
2021–2022 | Yokohama B-Corsairs | ||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Tajon Akira Jacobs ( Japanese: ジェイコブス 晶, born April 13, 2004) is a Japanese basketball player for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Big West Conference. He is a member of the Japanese men's basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Jacobs was born in Yokohama, Japan, [1] to a Japanese mother and an American father who was serving in the military. [2] He moved with his family to Southern California a few months after he was born. [2] Jacobs started playing basketball at the age of four because his mother was a fan and gave him basketball merchandise. [3] He played on the basketball teams when he attended Redondo Union High School and Dymally High School in California. [4]
Jacobs regularly visited Japan on trips as a child. [2] While on a trip there when he was aged 16, he decided to stay so he could explore new opportunities. [3]
Jacobs joined the under-18 team of the Yokohama B-Corsairs for the 2021–22 season. [3] He was promoted to the senior professional team as a special designated player and became the youngest player to appear in a first division B.League game when he debuted for the B-Corsairs on November 13, 2021, at the age of 17 years and 7 months. [3] On February 3, 2022, he scored his first points as the youngest player in B.League history to score in a game. [3]
Jacobs appeared at the Basketball Without Borders Asia camp in 2022 and earned the Patrick Baumann Sportsmanship Award. [5] On September 30, 2022, Jacobs joined the NBA Global Academy, a basketball training program at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. [5] He was the first Japanese prospect to join an NBA Academy on a full-time basis. [5]
On July 14, 2023, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors announced that they had signed Jacobs to become the first Japanese player to join the program. [4] Jacobs chose to play for the Rainbow Warriors because of Hawaii's links to Japanese culture and its closeness to both Japan and California. [6] He averaged 2.4 points in 28 games during his freshman season. [7]
Jacobs was a member of the under-18 Japanese men's national team that won the silver medal at the 2022 FIBA U18 Asian Championship; [5] he was injured during the second game and missed the rest of the tournament. [2] He played for the under-19 team at the 2023 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup and averaged 17 points per game. [4] Jacobs was included on the extended training camp roster for the Japan senior national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. [2]
Jacobs was invited to Japan's basketball training camp for the 2024 Paris Olympics and named to their final roster. [7]
Jacobs holds dual Japanese and American citizenship. [8]