I started in 2010 as an intern with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, then joined the Oklahoma City Thunder as an Entertainment Associate for the 2010–11 season. From 2012 to 2015 I was back with the IronPigs as a Manager. Back in Japan I worked with NFL Japan, Alvark Tokyo (B.League) and Rakuten, where I led the NBA Japan Games 2022. In 2025 I moved my family to Alabama to build fan entertainment for the Trash Pandas.
Sports entertainment · Partnerships
Morris
Morioka
NBA. B.League. MiLB.
Japan. USA.
$20M+Project ledRakutenNBA Japan Games 2022
3-daySelloutRakutenNBA Japan Games 2022
$220K+New revenueRocket City Trash PandasGlobal Baseball Series 2026
90+Home games directedToyota Alvark TokyoHome Game Entertainment
80%Profit marginLehigh Valley IronPigsShort Term Internship Program
As seen inReutersSLAMThe Indianapolis StarThunder MagazineHOOPThe Morning CallKyoto ShimbunTokyo Shimbun
Selected work
Six stories. Click one.
01NBA · Rakuten · 2022
NBA Japan Games 2022
A $20M+ project. A 3-day sellout.
02MiLB · Toyota · 2026
Global Baseball Series
Golden Bobblehead Award winner. $220K+ in new revenue, built from zero.
03NBA · Oklahoma · 2010–11
Oklahoma City Thunder
200-to-1 to get in. A full season. On Japanese TV.
04B.League · Tokyo · 2016–19
Toyota Alvark Tokyo
90+ home games. One robot named CUE.
05MiLB · Pennsylvania · 2012–14
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
A new global program with an 80% profit margin.
06MiLB · Community · 2025–26
Japanese Heritage Night
Golden Bobblehead nominee (2025). About 4,300 fans in 2026. 103 contributions from 94 individuals.
← Work
NBA Japan
NBA · Rakuten · 2022
NBA Japan
Games 2022
Main Project Manager, Rakuten (Manager, Global Sports Business). Warriors vs. Wizards.
Challenge
Bring NBA games to Japan on a world-class stage: a $20M+ (2B JPY) project with two organizations, a tight clock and no room for error.
Action
- Led contract negotiations.
- Built and led the project team.
- Managed the P&L and reported directly to the CEO.
Result
$20M+
project delivered
3-day
sellout
Record
sales volume for one event in Japan
← Work
Global
MiLB · Toyota · 2026
Global
Baseball Series
Rocket City Trash Pandas · March 30 to April 1, 2026 · Sr. Manager, Promotions & Entertainment.
Challenge
Create the franchise's first preseason series and first international-team matchup. A new revenue line, no playbook, about twelve months.
Action
- Brought TOYOTA Red Cruisers (10× national champions) to Madison, Alabama.
- Won over Mazda Toyota Manufacturing and aligned Toyota leadership.
- Staged a sakura planting, Japanese cheering, rice-ball sales, a charity auction and a press conference covered by 5 TV stations.
Result
$220K+
new revenue
$100K+
new profit
4,355
fans on the main night
Winner
2026 MiLB Golden Bobblehead
Award
2026 MiLB Golden Bobblehead Award
The Global Baseball Series won the Golden Bobblehead Award for Best Local Partnership Activation at the 2026 MiLB Awards.
Watch Game 3 ↗Podcast, before the event ↗Press conference ↗Game 3 recap ↗News report ↗Event video (Facebook) ↗News report 2 ↗
← Work
Japanese
MiLB · Community · 2025–26
Japanese
Heritage Night
Rocket City Trash Pandas · built from the ground up · held in 2025 and 2026 (2026 edition on September 5).
Challenge
Turn one night into a true celebration of Japanese culture, and fund it through the community when a big corporate title sponsor was not coming.
Action
- Launched a “TEAM JAPAN” individual-sponsor campaign.
- Designed about 100 nobori flags, about 100 chochin lanterns and a cheering program adapted to MiLB rules.
- Added local kids' dance, an art expo with the Japanese school and a fireworks finale.
Result
2025
Golden Bobblehead nomination (representing the team)
~4,300
fans in 2026
103
contributions from 94 individuals in 2026
← Work
Toyota
B.League · Tokyo · 2016–19
Toyota
Alvark Tokyo
Manager. Live entertainment and community, plus Toyota presenting games with Dentsu.
Challenge
Make every home game feel like an event for fans and a platform for sponsors, across three seasons.
Action
Story one: CUE
Led the unveiling event for CUE, the basketball-shooting robot, at an Alvark home game in March 2018: a halftime shootout against forward Yudai Baba that ended 9 to 9.
Story two: the game night
Directed game presentation and entertainment, and ran Toyota presenting games with Toyota and Dentsu.
Result
90+
home games directed in 3 years
300+
community activities
← Work
Lehigh Valley
MiLB · Pennsylvania · 2012–14
Lehigh Valley
IronPigs
Manager, Marketing & Promotions (Triple-A).
Challenge
Find new business inside a minor-league ballpark, with a small team and a limited budget.
Action
- Created the Short Term Internship Program, a new global program.
- Managed 3 full-time interns and 30 promotion crew over 3 seasons (each season: 1 full-time intern and 10 game-day staff).
Result
80%
profit margin on the new program
40+
people joined the internship program
- Apr 14, 2010The Morning CallIronPigs’ 2010 promotions: intern Morris “may be the fun and games department’s secret weapon”
← Work
Oklahoma City
NBA · Oklahoma · 2010–11
Oklahoma City
Thunder
Entertainment Associate. A full NBA season, playoffs included. Featured on Yomiuri TV in Japan.
Challenge
Break into the NBA from Japan. I pitched all 30 teams and none hired me at first. I wrote again, offered to start as a volunteer, and earned a place against 200-to-1 competition.
Action
- Joined the department that plans in-arena events and produces the videos shown to fans.
- Directed the performers who fire up the crowd, and handmade their cheering props overnight.
- Came to the office on non-game days and found work to do, as a game-day contract employee.
- Proposed the Free Throw Distraction Project: all 30 arenas ranked, with a fan-distraction plan.
- Worked the 2011 playoff run to the Western Conference Finals, including Game 7 against Memphis and the “Blue Out”, when 18,203 T-shirts went on every seat in the arena.
Result
~50
games worked, playoffs included
200:1
competition to join the team
TV
featured on Yomiuri TV, Japan
The free-throw plan never ran at a game, but the staff loved the effort.
- 2011Thunder MagazineInternational Appeal
- 2011HOOPChase the Dream: say “I can do it,” keep at it, and it becomes real
- 2011HOOPThe NBA playoffs from the front staff’s side (written by Morris)
- Aug 27, 2011Kyodo News wireA Japanese man working in the NBA sees the Thunder’s rapid rise
Who.
Born in Okayama, Japan. Working across two countries and three leagues.
I make sports nights that people remember.
I grew up in Okayama, studied in Kyoto, Japan and Vancouver, Canada, and have spent 15+ years in sports entertainment across the NBA, B.League and MiLB, in Japanese and in English.
Today I am Senior Manager of Promotions & Entertainment at the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, based in Madison, Alabama.
The route
2025 –Rocket City Trash PandasSr. Manager, Promotions & EntertainmentMiLB · Alabama
2019 – 25RakutenManager, Global Sports BusinessTokyo
2016 – 19Toyota Alvark TokyoManagerB.League · Tokyo
2015 – 16NFL Japan Liaison OfficeManager, rights worth $4M+ a yearNFL · Tokyo
2012 – 14Lehigh Valley IronPigsManager, Marketing & PromotionsMiLB · Pennsylvania
2010 – 11Oklahoma City ThunderEntertainment AssociateNBA · Oklahoma
2010Lehigh Valley IronPigsInternMiLB · Pennsylvania
2008 – 09IntelligenceManager, Advertisement SalesTokyo
Skills
- Game Entertainment & Operation
- Corporate Sponsorship Integration
- Fan Engagement Design
- Talent & Mascot Management
- Global Project Management
- Ticket & Sponsorship Sales
Education
- Ritsumeikan University
Bachelor of Geography · Kyoto · 2003–07 - University of British Columbia
International Studies · Vancouver · 2004–05
Favorite words
DO OR DO
If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.
Dr. Emmett Brown, Back to the Future
Wow.
Challenges I took on, on and off the clock.
01
Tsunami Relief Dribble
In January 2012 I dribbled a basketball 370 km (230 miles) from Shibuya, Tokyo to Sendai in 12 days, through snow and cold, collecting messages of support for Tohoku. More than 200 people welcomed me at the Sendai City Gymnasium, where I handed the ball to the Sendai 89ers before their home game. The donations, including $5,700 (457,000 JPY) from 56 supporters online, went to a program that gives basketballs to junior high schools in Miyagi. Reuters carried the story around the world.
370 km (230 mi)12 days200+ at the finish$5,700 (457,000 JPY) · 56 supporters
- Feb 3, 2012ReutersBasketball fan dribbles 370 km for tsunami-hit kids↗
- Mar 12, 2012SLAMQ+A: Hiroshi “Morris” Morioka↗
- Jan 30, 2012Tokyo ShimbunA 370 km bond by dribble: cheering up the disaster area with a “genki ball”
- Jan 30, 2012Kahoku ShimpoPassing energy to the disaster area: 370 km dribble completed
- Jan 21, 2012Shimotsuke ShimbunDribbling for earthquake recovery, on the way to Sendai
- Mar 2012HOOPGENKIDAMA370: dribbling from Tokyo to Sendai
02
Hot Dog Man
My self-deprecating alter ego. He lost a rain-delay race to Little Mustard on camera and kept smiling. The goal: 10,000 followers by the end of the 2027 season.
@hotdogman_dadGoal 10K
03
Free Throw Distraction Project
At the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2010–11, I co-developed a data-driven initiative to make our arena the toughest environment in the NBA for visiting free-throw shooters. We benchmarked all 30 arenas on visitor free-throw performance (OKC ranked 14th), reviewed academic research and the Dallas Mavericks' ThunderStix test, and designed a scripted in-arena activation for late-game moments. I presented the proposal to department leadership. A modern dashboard version is next.
30 arenasOKC ranked 14thOKC 2010–11
04
Riceballs for the team
At the Oklahoma City Thunder I made 20 to 30 riceballs before every home game, playoffs included, about 50 times in all, for the entertainment staff and the Storm Chasers. The Director of Entertainment loved them and asked me to keep going all season. It began in my IronPigs internship, when riceballs gave me a way to communicate with my colleagues and share Japanese food and culture. I made them now and then in 2012–14, and in 2025 and 2026 for all 69 Trash Pandas home games plus other games and events. More than 150 times, 25 riceballs each.
25 per batch150+ batchesSince the IronPigs internship
05
College Dribbles
While I was at college in Kyoto, I dribbled a basketball home to Okayama, about 210 km (130 miles) in 6 days in August 2006, and from Kyoto to Tokyo, about 500 km (310 miles) in 13 days in March 2007. Both were to promote basketball in Japan, and local newspapers followed the first one the whole way.
Kyoto to Okayama · 210 km (130 mi) · 6 daysKyoto to Tokyo · 500 km (310 mi) · 13 days
- Aug 5, 2006Kyoto ShimbunEveryone, let’s play basketball! A 200 km dribbling journey to Okayama
- Aug 16, 2006Okayama Nichinichi ShimbunDribbling home: 200 km, Kyoto to Okayama
- Aug 16, 2006Sanyo ShimbunKyoto to family home, 200 km completed by dribble
- Aug 26, 2006Ako MinpoDribbling Kyoto to Okayama, 200 km: “Let’s play basketball!”
- Oct 2006GakushinKyoto to Okayama, 200 km dribble completed
06
Basketball Around the World
I travel to learn how basketball events and entertainment work in other countries. Where I have been:
- FIBA World Cup 2019 (China)
- FIBA World Cup 2023 (Philippines / Japan / Indonesia)
- NBA Paris Game 2023 (France)
- NBA Abu Dhabi Game 2024 (UAE)
- Olympiacos BC (Greece, EuroLeague)
- Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel, Israel Premier League)
- Fenerbahçe (Turkey, EuroLeague)
- Galatasaray (Turkey)
- Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse (France, EuroCup)
- Beijing Ducks (China, CBA)
- New Taipei Kings (Chinese Taipei / Taiwan, P.LEAGUE)
- EASL Finals (Cebu, Philippines)
Hey!
Got an idea? Say hey.
In their words
“Morris is a champion at what he does. His knowledge of sports goes well beyond what is outlined on his job description. He is extremely intelligent and great to be around. Morris is a great guy to have on your team.”
JL
John LeachFormer Director of Events & Entertainment · Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) · LinkedIn, June 15, 2011