Japan return leaves Rhys' future anything but Vague

• Rhys Vague is a four-time NBL champion with the Perth Wildcats
• He most recently played in the NBL with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in season 2023-24
• Vague currently plays with Tokyo United in the Japanese B3 League

Rhys Vague is a four-time NBL champion before he's even 30 and while he won't rule anything out in the future, the basketball opportunities and lifestyle available in Japan mean he'd be more than happy to play out his career there.

Had you told Vague 10 years ago that he'd already have four NBL championship rings with his hometown Perth Wildcats, he'd have pulled on an Australian Boomers uniform a host of times and he was able to spend most of the decade playing professional basketball - he'd have been over the moon.

However, the 29-year-old is anything but content now despite having 106 games in the NBL behind him both with the 'Cats and the South East Melbourne Phoenix along with his international experience, and four full seasons playing in Japan.

That's why Vague is not in reflective mode while in his prime basketball years as evidenced by his 2024-25 season in the Japanese B3 League with Tokyo United, where he delivered 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 27.2 minutes with 36% three-point shooting.

Now after a stint back home in Perth, he will return to Japan ahead of a second season with Tokyo United. And while he'll be open to any opportunities in the future, he would be quite happy if Japan turned out to be a regular basketball home.

"I think the way that I look at it is that as long as I'm in a good situation where I get to play basketball then I'm going to be happy at the end of the day whether that's in Japan, Australia or I even try somewhere else at some point," Vague told basketball.com.au.

"Australia and Japan are obviously my preference, but at the same time I would consider any option in the future and weigh up equally what they are.

"But I would be more than happy to finish my career in Japan and continue playing as long as I can with stints back home in the NBL1 in between to get my little taste of home basketball."

Not ready to reflect yet

Because Vague's first opportunities as a development player at the Wildcats came when he was still a teenager, it's easy to forget that he's still a young man and yet to reach 30.

Ever since, Vague remained at the 'Cats up until the end of NBL20 graduating to a full roster spot along the way before three seasons in Japan with Kagawa Five Arrows, another NBL opportunity at the Phoenix two years ago, and pulling on the green-and-gold along the way.

Throw in NBL1 opportunities at home with the East Perth Eagles, Warwick Senators and Cockburn Cougars, and also the 2018 season with the Dandenong Rangers, and time in the NZNBL with the Nelson Giants and Hawkes Bay Hawks, and Vague has crammed a lot into the last decade.

However, as he prepares to return to Tokyo next week, being in reflection mode and happy with what he's accomplished is the last thing he's ready to do.

"I do think about that every now and then, but not a whole lot because I'm at the stage of my career where I'm still battling for contracts for every year," Vague said.

"I want to keep pushing and don't want to feel content with anything I've done or look back yet because once I start doing that I might stop trying to get better.

"I'm so not ready to be content yet but that being said, growing up in Perth and being part of the Wildcats as an 18-year-old was a dream come true.

"We love our hoops as much anyone in Perth and it does feel like I've been around for a long, long time, it really does, and it has been almost 11 years that I've been in the pro system. It's crazy to think that by the end of it I could have been doing it for 17, 18 years. It's pretty nuts."

Enjoying some time to recharge

Vague's first season with Tokyo United ended back at the end of April and he did consider coming home to Perth and playing a second straight NBL1 West season with Cockburn, but decided his body needed a rest more.

That was after playing in 55 games during the B3 League season with Tokyo. Now, considering he is about to return to Japan as of next week and would have likely missed most, if not all of the finals, had Cockburn qualified, he's just enjoyed some relaxing time at home.

"It's been nice and it's the longest stretch I've had I think in my career back home where I haven't also been playing," he said.

"It's been unfamiliar territory for me but it's been nice for me to let my body rest and spend time with family, and catch up with friends which has been difficult the past couple of years.

"Obviously I want to play as much as possible because the fun part is playing as many games of basketball as possible, but towards the back end of that season playing heavy and when you get up around that 40-game mark, it's when I realised my body needed a bit of a break.

"It was a tough decisions and I would have liked to come back to play NBL1, but I had to do what was best for my body more than anything."

Being in prime of career

After a challenging NBL24 season on a number of fronts at South East Melbourne, Vague got some confidence back in the NBL1 West season at Cockburn before signing at Tokyo United.

What he delivered was numbers wise at least the best of his four seasons playing in Japan and he enjoyed the entire experience, and the role he was given. That's why he was so willing to return to the same club for 2025-26.

"I think age-wise I'm right in the middle of my prime playing years and I think also having a bigger role on my team this year really helped me be able to contribute more to the team," Vague said.

"Especially being an import over there, I'm more heavily relied upon to score the ball and to facilitate, and be a focal point in the offence. So I took that in my stride and I appreciated the extra role I was given and tried to make the best of it I could."

Japanese lifestyle is hard to top

While Vague has never been part of an unpleasant experience anywhere he's played in his career, for so many reasons with the basketball and lifestyle he has enjoyed in Japan, it's very hard to top.

"The basketball is only one side of it though. Living in Tokyo is amazing and you've got everything you want around you and my club as a whole was really professional, and looked after me so well," Vague said.

"I don't think I've ever been in a bad situation in my career, but this was right at the top that I've been part of.

"Then also staying in Japan for me with the way they are heading with their basketball and with the direction their league is going, it sort of makes it a no-brainer to go back and stay there as long as possible."

Feeling right at home in Japan

A big reason that Vague feels so at home in Japan because even though there is somewhat of a language and cultural difference to Australia, to him it really doesn't feel like he is in a foreign country in so many ways.

Then in terms of the basketball, Vague feels the Japanese style matches up with the Australian one in terms of being much more team-oriented and that suits him down to a tee.

"I don’t have anything apart from Australia to compare it to and I do think Australia and Japan are two of the best places in the world to play basketball lifestyle-wise," Vague said.

"But just the way that the people around the team and the organisation look after you, and how everyone greets you, is just so elevated in Japan.

"It's hard to really explain, but people just genuinely love you and get around you so much, and it just gives you a really good feeling. It's a very similar culture in a lot of ways to Australia which is why I think we enjoy staying over there so much.

"It is obviously a different country with its own culture, but Australians are so welcoming and so are Japanese people so it feels like a home away from home.

"It reminds me so much of Australia when I'm over there so it doesn't feel like you are away from home, and even the way the league is structured makes it feel like home so I have nothing but great things to say about it."

Being treated like a human, not commodity

The other thing that makes Vague feel so comfortable and at home in Japan is the way he is treated by the people, and how it sounds so different from some of the stories he's heard of how imports are treated throughout different parts of Asia or Europe.

"I also think they understand that when you're a foreigner playing over there that you stick out like a sore thumb especially as a basketball player, and I feel like they empathise it can be to move to a different country and culture," Vague said.

"Without being told anything, they just make sure you feel welcomed and they'll never leave you out to dry.

"It's just ingrained in their culture to be a welcoming sort of people so when you are treated like that, it's hard to not be really appreciative of where you are and the way you are respected and looked after."

Providing what Japanese clubs need

If you look at a lot of the Australian players who have now made tremendous careers for themselves in Japan like Nick Kay, Angus Brandt and Brock Motum, they share plenty of similar characteristics to what Vague offers.

Japan have no shortage of local guards they produce so in general when they look to Australia for imports they are looking for three, four or five men who can add that big of extra size and grunt, but also spread the floor with their shooting abilities.

That's exactly what Vague offers and he has no doubt that is a big reason why his game has transferred so favourably to playing in Japan now heading into a fifth season.

"With the Australian game you grow up playing lots of different positions whether you're a three, four or five especially with guys like Nick and Brock who can play whatever position you really want them to play," Vague said.

"I think it's a trait of Australian basketball just being a jack of all trades which they seem to really appreciate in Japan because you're essentially getting two players for the price of one.

"You might go and get a five man from Europe or America, or a three man, and then you can slot someone like myself, Angus, Brock, Nick or whoever from Australia in with either one of them and it works.

"I think they really understand the value of that and the importance of having a guy who can pinch hit to play either position and the other thing we have in common is the ability to play in a team environment.

"We grow up learning how to play as a team in Australia and that's another thing that Japanese basketball really appreciates because it's a team-based game and there's not much one-on-one or pick-and-roll play like the States or Europe."