When filmmakers Bruce Johnson and Christine Toy Johnson first embarked on their journey to document the life of Wataru (Wat) Misaka in their 2009 documentary, “Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story,” one of their first stops was the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Wat was nowhere to be found in the hall and they were particularly surprised to see Wat absent from the NBA Diversity display. They asked to meet with the director who declined by saying, “Wat is really no more than an interesting trivia question.”
Wat passed away on Nov. 20, 2019, at the age of 95.