The Basketball World Cup is going on right now, so you know what that means — no, we're not gonna search for Jews! Israel hasn't qualified since 1986, so it's not happening.

Except it happened. Playing for Japan — yes, for JAPAN(!!!) — is someone named Avi Koki Schafer. In what world... In this one, apparently.

Schafer, who measures a gangling 6'10" (208 cm), was born in Osaka to a Japanese mother and an American father. He went to college at Georgia Tech, where he played a whole six games, totaled all of six minutes, failed to score a point, and missed the only shot he ever took. He did manage to grab four rebounds, decided that college was not for him, and departed to play pro in his home country, which, in case you forgot, is JAPAN.

And, yes, he is at least part Jewish (with a name like Avi Schafer, come on!), since we dug up an obituary for his great-grandmother, for a funeral held in a Pittsburgh Jewish funeral home. That is more research than we ever do, but we just had to find proof!

There is a 6'10" Jew playing for Japan in the Basketball World Cup. You'd think we wouldn't be easily shocked after 13 years of running this website, and yet...