Kings’ Namizato becomes free agent

TKbj -League pro basketball team Ryukyu Golden Kings announced that the team’s contract with Narito Namizato has expired on June 30th.

Namizato took up a challenge to play in the U.S. after the 2012-13 season, but was not able to gain a spot in any of the U.S. pro teams. He came back to Okinawa in the middle of the 2013-14 season and re-signed with the Kings.

Namizato made a strong contribution for the Kings’ winning the league championship that season.

An official with the Golden Kings said that Namizato decided leave the team having a desire to play in a different environment and became a free agent. With the announcement of the end of Namizato’s contract, the team released a comment saying, “We greatly appreciate Namizato’s contributions to the team, and sincerely hope the best for his future endeavors.”

Namizato signed with Osaka Evessa on Jul. 8th.