Football team
Ryukyu Golden Kings
Club · Japan · B League
«Golden Kings»
Chiba Jets carry the sharpest edge in Okinawa's rivalry list, having stood across from the Golden Kings in the 2023 B.League Finals — a series the Kings won on the way to their first championship in the unified league. Alvark Tokyo brings its own weight to the fixture list, built on years of playoff and cup meetings, and Utsunomiya Brex left a mark of a different kind, having beaten the Kings to the title in the 2022 B.League Finals.
Jeff Newton is the name attached to the club's breakthrough: his number 50 is the only jersey the Golden Kings have retired, earned by helping deliver the team's first championship in the bj League in 2009. Three more bj League titles followed, in 2012, 2014 and 2016, before the league merged into the B.League and Okinawa carried its winning habits into the new format — an East Asia Super League title in 2018, then the B.League Championship itself in 2022–23, with Allen Durham central to that run. The Emperor's Cup held out longer, with runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024 before the Kings beat Tokyo Alvark 60–49 for the title in 2025.
Keita Imamura has run the offence as the club's primary guard since 2020, while Anthony McHenry spent a decade in Okinawa and left with four bj League titles to his name, a span that covers most of the club's championship history.
None of it was inherited. The Golden Kings did not grow out of an older team but were built new in Okinawa, with a public naming contest settling on "Ryukyu Kings" before trademark concerns added "Golden" to the name the club has carried since.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 23 Sep | B League |
Alvark
A
|
85:74 | W |
| 22 Sep | B League |
Alvark
A
|
73:84 | L |
| 26 May | B League |
Nagasaki
A
|
64:72 | L |
| 24 May | B League |
Nagasaki
A
|
60:66 | L |
| 23 May | B League |
Nagasaki
A
|
71:69 | W |
| 16 May | B League |
Nagoya Diamond Dolphins
H
|
90:74 | W |
Standing
B LeagueGroup stage · Western Conference
| # | Team | M | W | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Nagasaki
|
60 | 47 | 13 | 5472:4782 | 0 |
| 2 |
 SeaHorses Mikawa
|
60 | 43 | 17 | 5030:4670 | 0 |
| 3 |
 Ryukyu Golden Kings
|
60 | 42 | 18 | 4931:4502 | 0 |
| 4 |
Nagoya Diamond Dolphins
|
60 | 41 | 19 | 4973:4502 | 0 |
| 5 |
 San-en NeoPhoenix
|
60 | 36 | 24 | 5152:4986 | 0 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 418| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 418 | 213 | 205 |
| Scored | 34507 | 17820 | 16687 |
| Conceded | 31537 | 15975 | 15562 |
| Average per match | 82.6 | 83.7 | 81.4 |
| Conceded per game | 75.4 | 75.0 | 75.9 |
| Difference | +2970 | +1845 | +1125 |
Fixtures of Ryukyu Golden Kings
Honours of Ryukyu Golden Kings
- bj League 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016 4
- B.League Championship 2023 1
- East Asia Super League 2018 1
- Emperor's Cup 2025 1