After the Grizzlies finished up their dominant 117-96 win Saturday over Phoenix, the center of attention in the Memphis locker room wasn't one of the usual stars like Mike Conley or Marc Gasol.

It wasn't MarShon Brooks, who scored 18 points off the bench, or even first-round draft pick Jaren Jackson Jr.

Everyone wanted to talk to Memphis rookie Yuta Watanabe, who played just four minutes and scored two points on a pair of free throws.

Why? Because Saturday against the Suns, Watanabe became just the second Japanese-born player to see regular-season minutes in the NBA. Coincidentally, the NBA's first Japanese-born player, Yuta Tabuse, played for Phoenix during the 2004-05 season.

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The Grizzlies signed Watanabe to a two-way contract this July.

It was fitting that after a training camp where up to 20 Japanese reporters followed his every move, there was one Japanese media member who remained to interview the rookie after Saturday's game.

Watanabe repeated what he has already said many times before the season. The 6-foot-9 forward hopes he can be a "pioneer" for future Japanese players to come into the NBA.

"It was only four minutes, but I really enjoyed the four minutes," Watanabe said. "I enjoyed the environment, the crowd, everything. It was great."

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Watanabe was the player selected to talk on television after the final horn. When he returned to the locker room, he did interviews in English. Then he did more in Japanese. Then he did more in English again.

But no matter which language he was speaking, his body language said it all. Watanabe couldn't get rid of his smile after his first NBA appearance.

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His fellow rookie, Jackson Jr., called Watanabe a "superstar" and couldn't help but smile when reporters swarmed his teammate's locker.

"Everything was fun," Watanabe said. "Even the inbounds, the missed alley-oop, it was all fun."

His only points came on a pair of free throws when he was fouled with just less than two minutes remaining in the lopsided game. The crowd, which realized they were his first career points, applauded the rookie.

"I'm not going to forget this moment for the rest of my life," Watanabe said.

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