"I don't think sports medicine would be a good fit," Kise said. "I'm very bad at math. I have worse grades than Kurokocchi."

He bites his lips. "I don't know what I'd do outside of basketball. Before, I thought I'd stay a model and maybe take up photography. But I don't particularly care about cameras. I know how to take good pictures, though.

"But the best basketball players stay active well into their thirties. The oldest to retire was forty-five, but most retire at forty. I can't imagine being that old. That's more than twice how old I am now."