On February 15th, Bruce Alan Johnson and Christine Toy Johnson’s film Transcending: the Wat Misaka Story was screened in a special engagement at the Japan American Theatre in Little Tokyo.

The groundbreaking film tells the little-known story of Wataru “Wat” Misaka, the first ethnic minority to play in the NBA. Misaka, a 5’7” point guard, was a key player for the University of Utah as they captured the 1944 NCAA and 1947 NIT basketball championships. He was subsequently drafted in the first round of the 1947-1948 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks (coincidentally the same year Jackie Robinson joined Major League Baseball and Wally Yonamine suited up as the first JA player in the NFL). Transcending is a fantastic film that juxtaposes Wat’s success with the very real, very difficult effects of WWII on Japanese American lives. He quickly emerged an inspiration and a voice for many Japanese Americans facing uncertainty and hardships at home during the war.

Filmmaker Christine Toy-Johnson, JACCC Executive Director Chris Aihara, Wat Misaka, & LTSC Executive Director Bill Watanabe

To our surprise, Mr. Misaka agreed to make an appearance at the screening, flying in from Phoenix, where he was honored as an “NBA Legend” at NBA All-Star Weekend. He arrived and took questions from the audience, then stuck around to sign some autographs. It was absolutely extraordinary to shake the hand of an NBA legend, the “Jackie Robinson of basketball”.