Shining the Light on how Kilo-Wat Broke Basketball’s Color Barrier

In America, Jackie Robinson is a household name, known for breaking the color barrier in professional baseball. But did you know that the color barrier in basketball was broken by a Utah native?

Wataru Misaka was the first non-white athlete in professional basketball when he was drafted by the New York Knicks. At the time, there were two professional leagues which merged into the NBA in 1949, so this legend of professional basketball has largely gone unrecognized until recently.

Meet two people who are working to bring Wat’s story to Utah audiences through a stage play: Aaron Asano Swenson, playwright of "Kilo-Wat", and actor Bryan Kido.