Michael moved to the United States when he was 2 years old, settling in Los Angeles where he started playing basketball in high school.

From then on he would be a vital element of the team that won all but two titles until it withdrew from the league due to financial difficulties in 2002.

Takahashi would later repeat that success at Toyota Alvark where he won the title a further three times before joining his current team the Aisin Seahorses.

They would do better at the next edition losing the final to South Korea which qualified them for the FIBA World Championship for the first time in 31 years.

[2] At the 1998 tournament in Athens they were eliminated at the group stage, losing all their games although Takahashi finished as his team's best scorer with 16.4 PPG.