UNK grad Ayami Sato earned her place – and GOAT status – in the NBA

INDIANAPOLIS – The Instagram post has nearly 64,000 likes and 250 comments, with praise pouring in from across the basketball world.

Ayami Sato is a legend, an inspiration, an expert at her job and a sweet soul. Star players Tyrese Haliburton and Caitlin Clark added another description to the long list: GOAT.

The behind-the-scenes video, shared by the NBA in April, highlights Sato’s role as an assistant athletic trainer, physical therapist and sports medicine administrator for the Indiana Pacers. It also offers a glimpse into why she’s become such a beloved figure within the organization.

Head coach Rick Carlisle calls her a “very valuable” member of the staff, and the elite athletes who benefit from her expertise appreciate Sato’s positivity, endless energy and encouragement.

“She’s always in a good mood,” Carlisle said. “It helps create the environment that we want here. It is infectious.”

The attention was both surprising and emotional for Sato, a 2008 graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

“I was full of tears because they were so nice,” she said. “I do understand I’m one of the lucky ones. If you don’t get the opportunity to prove yourself, you won’t even be able to show people what you have. So many people in this world gave me opportunities, and I don’t take that for granted.”

A Dream Worth Chasing

Sato’s journey to the NBA began three decades ago, when a young girl from Yokohama, Japan, fell in love with basketball. She played the game year-round, eventually becoming a high school center.

“I was tall,” she said. “I’m 5-8, which is tall in Japan, so that made it easier to score. But I wasn’t even near close to being able to play college basketball.”

So, she began searching for other ways to stay connected to the sport.

“After my high school career was over, I was like, ‘What do I do?’” she explained. “What else is out there that involves basketball?”

While researching options online, she learned about athletic training. The profession immediately captured her interest; however, there was one major hurdle to clear. At that time, very few women worked as athletic trainers in professional sports, especially in men’s leagues.

“A lot of people told me it would be difficult,” Sato recalled. “I was told I can’t do this so many times.”

Like so many of the players she now treats, resiliency became a big part of her story.

Sato arrived at UNK at age 18, attracted by the university’s affordability, English-language support and strong athletic training program. The transition to life in the U.S. was anything but easy.

“I wanted a challenge, some kind of difficulty that would allow me to grow,” Sato said.

She spent her first year in UNK’s English Language Institute, learning to communicate with everyone around her. When she entered college coursework, the language barrier continued to be an obstacle.

Class lectures were often difficult to understand, so she struggled in the courses needed for admission into the athletic training program and was denied entry twice.

Many students would have moved on to another major. Sato refused.

“Maybe I was young, but I didn’t even think too much about it,” she said with a smile. “If I wanted to do it, I was going to keep trying.”

On her third attempt, she was accepted into the program. She credits Scott Unruh, then-director of the athletic training education program, for believing in her when others may have given up.

“Without UNK, I’m not here,” she said. “I truly appreciate all the support I received there, especially from Dr. Unruh, my host family and the friends I met at UNK. It ended up being a great choice.”

Sato worked with Loper athletic teams and completed a rotation at Kearney High School while earning her bachelor’s degree. She graduated from UNK in 2008, but her education was only beginning.

Every step that followed was part of a deliberate effort to become a better clinician.

She earned a master’s degree in exercise science from the University of Toledo, where she studied ankle injuries and worked as a graduate assistant. That led to a head athletic trainer position at St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo, where Sato worked with hundreds of athletes across multiple sports. She pursued a doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Dayton while continuing to work at St. John’s Jesuit, giving her more experience in rehabilitation.

Along the way, she sought opportunities that would prepare her for the highest level of basketball.

A clinical rotation with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization opened doors. A position with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (now the Noblesville Boom), the Pacers’ NBA G League affiliate, followed. In 2023, she had the happiest meeting of her career.

“This is a dream come true,” Sato recalled.

Making an Impact Every Day

Sato can describe the past three years with the Pacers in one word – amazing.

She enjoys the day-to-day responsibilities of the job, helping players stay healthy, recover from injuries and perform at their best while working toward the shared goal of bringing an NBA championship to Indiana. But the relationships are what she values most.

“We spend more time together than family members, so obviously we become close,” she said. “I’ve just learned so much as a human by working in this environment.”

Those connections are evident in the NBA video.

“Any time we walk in the gym, we know where Ayami is,” forward Obi Toppin said. “She’s amazing. She brings great energy every single day.”

Guard Ethan Thompson shares a similar sentiment.

“Every time you walk in the building, we hear good morning from Ayami,” he said. “It's something that brightens up the environment.”

Carlisle also emphasizes an impact that extends far beyond her job title.

“She represents her country with a great amount of enthusiasm,” he said. “She's great at what she does. And she provides unbending and limitless enthusiasm every single day for the Pacers, so we love her.”

While others celebrate her accomplishments, Sato continues to approach her job as a student of the profession.

“My goal is to become a better clinician every day,” she said. “This is an amazing opportunity I was given, so I have to continue to work hard and improve.”

Sato certainly doesn’t consider herself to be the “greatest of all time,” but she does feel a sense of responsibility now. She hopes her journey encourages others facing obstacles of their own.

“There are so many things that make you think you can’t,” she said. “I want people to think, ‘Maybe I can.’ No matter what other people say, if you want to try it, at least give it a shot. And it might just happen.”