“Just making the NBA; stepping on an NBA court. After that, I might have a different goal, but right now it is to make it to the NBA for sure.” Last year, Keisei Tominaga dreamed of playing in the NBA after being undrafted in 2024. Around the world, he also goes by Japanese Stephen Curry. Yes, the 24-year-old can light up from a distance just like the Warriors guard. Apart from this, his height and #30 are also a common factor. In fact, the Curry brand signed him last year and made him the first international athlete to do so.

Despite this, his NBA dream did not materialize after a successful college stint. The Nebraska Cornhuskers alum got his chance with the Pacers, as last year he signed an Exhibit-10 contract but later played G-League for the Indiana Mad Ants. This summer league is back again with the Indy team, wanting to prove to himself that he is NBA-ready. Let’s deep dive into his growth so far and the role of his family in helping him reach this stage.

Where is Keisei Tominaga from, and what is Keisei Tominaga’s Nationality?

He was born on Feb. 1, 2001, in Moriyama, Japan. Despite being just 24 years of age, he has already participated in two editions of the Olympic Games. First as a member of the 3X3 team in Tokyo 2020, then for the men’s basketball team in Paris 2024. Tominaga always had the headlines with “star” next to his name, going back to early 2019. Going back to his Sakuragaoka Gakuen High School days in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, he averaged 39.8 points per game.

Tominaga helped the school earn its first medal at the All-Japan Championship — popularly known as the Winter Cup — with a third-place finish. That’s why his stocks were always high, with much thanks to his parents’ genes.

What is Keisei Tominaga’s ethnicity?

Keisei Tominaga is ethnically Japanese and fell in love with hooping due to his parents. Just like him, Keisei Tominaga’s parents were professional basketball players in Japan. His father, Hiroyuki Tominaga, was 6-foot-11 and assumed the center position for the Japanese national team and various pro clubs. His playing career was almost a decade, from 1996 to 2006. Hiroyuki played for Mitsubishi Electric and also got the honor to represent the Japan National Team at the FIBA World Championship in 1998.

On the other hand, Tominaga’s mother, Hitomi, played in the industrial league for the same team as her husband, Mitsubishi Electric. Not as tall as Hiroyuki, but Hitomi was a proficient guard. Keisei Tominaga’s parents encouraged his love for the game by putting hoops in every room of their home, even the bathroom. Thus, coming from a lineage of professional basketball players, it is no surprise that he received the right support and is now one step away from his NBA dream.

What is the Keisei Tominaga religion?

There is no publicly available information about Keisei Tominaga’s religion. His focus has been on his basketball career, and his personal beliefs are not a topic of public discussion. His path, though, wasn’t easy. Keisei Tominaga did not have the grades to play in the NCAA initially. So the career began with junior college level at Ranger College in Ranger. There, he spent two years under former Texas A&M and Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie. Then the move to Nebraska, where he earned his full scholarship ahead of the 2021-22 season.

But as stated before, with the summer league, he is just one step away from his NBA dream. Back in 2023, Stephen Curry even reacted to one of the highlights of the 24-year-old’s shooting. On X, Curry wrote, “Love it, Keisei!” and soon they may cross paths in the NBA.