Yuki Kawamura is back in the NBA.
The Chicago Bulls re-signed the Japanese point guard to a two-way contract this week. The acquisition occurred after Kawamura, 24, was medically cleared following a 12-week recovery from a blood clot in his lower right leg, which originally was diagnosed in October.
Although he was waived at that time, Kawamura remained in Chicago and underwent the entirety of his recovery process with the Bulls medical team. Coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls always intended to re-sign Kawamura once he returned to full health.
At 5-foot-8, Kawamura is the shortest player in the NBA.
“You always take those things seriously,” Donovan said. “He’s worked really, really hard. I’m happy for him because at that point, when you have something like that, you just don’t know what that’s going to look like in the future. I’m just happy it all worked out well for him.”
Blood clots are a serious condition that typically require athletes to spend months off the court. This is a rare — but not unheard of — issue throughout the NBA. San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama missed the final two months of the 2024-25 season after the discovery of a blood clot in his shoulder.
When athletes are diagnosed with a blood clot, they are placed on a blood-thinning medication that helps the body pass the coagulation naturally. The medications increase an individual’s risk of experiencing extreme internal bleeding from impact or collision, which means athletes cannot return to full activity until they are no longer taking an anticoagulant.
Donovan noted that Kawamura could have played basketball during this time, but the Bulls medical staff held the guard out of all contact activities during his recovery. Since receiving medical clearance from the league, Kawamura has been able to successfully participate in practices with the Windy City Bulls in the G League.
The guard’s return couldn’t have come sooner. The Bulls have a guard shortage with Coby White limited by calf injuries and Josh Giddey sidelined with a strained left hamstring. Backup guard Tre Jones has been filling into the starting lineup, but the Bulls prefer to restrict his workload closer to 25 minutes. Ayo Dosunmu and Matas Buzelis also have helped pick up shifts as on-ball playmakers, but that role comes less naturally to both wings.
As a pass-first point guard who takes the majority of his shots from behind the arc, Kawamura could be a natural short-term fix for the Bulls backcourt. The team originally signed Kawamura to a two-way contract in July after a strong summer league performance.
“We’re certainly going to need another ball handler,” Donovan said. “That would help. He obviously has played in the league. I want to see where he’s at physically — he’s obviously had a long stretch of not any live action — but it’ll probably take him a little bit of time to get back into a rhythm. But I’m not opposed to (playing Kawamura) if we are continuing to deal with some of the things that we’ve dealt with in our backcourt.”
