Former Minnesota Timberwolves wing Jarrett Culver is emerging as a star in Japan. The Wolves drafted Culver with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he never panned out at the NBA level. After two years in Minnesota, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies alongside Juancho Hernangomez in a deal that netted the Wolves Patrick Beverley.
Culver spent one season with the Grizzlies and one more with the Atlanta Hawks before being out of the NBA altogether. And even that lone season in Atlanta wasn’t a standard NBA campaign. Culver was on a two-way contract, only played in 10 games for the Hawks, and was waived by January. He spent most of that year playing in the G League with the Rio Grande Vipers, the Houston Rockets’ G League affiliate.
But now, he’s balling out in Japan.
Jarrett Culver is a star in Japan
Culver signed a deal to play for the Sendai 89ers in the B.League of Japan for the 2025-26 campaign. It’s the first time since he’s gone overseas to play professional basketball, as he’s been in the NBA stratosphere ever since the Wolves drafted him in 2019.
Though he wasn’t able to stick at the NBA level, Culver has turned himself into an absolute superstar in Japan. He’s one of the best players in the league.
So far this season with the 89ers, Culver has appeared in 24 games, starting all of them and playing 30.2 minutes per contest. He leads his team in minutes per game.
Culver is averaging 24.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 48.2% from the field and 34.1% from deep range on 7.1 three-point attempts per contest.
His 24.6 points per contest lead the entire league, and there are only five total players putting up at least 20 points per game. Three of them are former NBA players: Culver, Stanley Johnson (21.3), and David Nwaba (20.2).
Before making the leap to play in Japan, Culver spent a year playing in the G League with the Osceola Magic, the Orlando Magic’s G League squad. He inked a training camp deal with Orlando to pave the way for him to join their G League team.
He played well that season, appearing in 34 games, starting six of them, and playing 27.6 minutes per game. While in Osceola, Culver averaged 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting 45.3% from the field and 33.5% from deep on 5.3 three-point attempts per contest.