Yuta Watanabe is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. Watanabe attended Jinsei Gakuen High School in Kagawa, where he played for the school’s varsity team. In his final two years with his high school program, Watanabe led his team to finish second in the All-Japan High School Basketball Tournament.
Watanabe has mentioned that while in high school, his goal was to go to the United States and make it to the NCAA and subsequently the NBA.
Watanabe’s dream would come true as he was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN and in the fall of 2014, George Washington Colonials men’s basketball team head coach Mike Lonergan asked him whether he would be interested in joining his college team.
Watanabe then committed to play for George Washington and became the first-ever Japanese-born athlete to be given an NCAA Division 1 basketball scholarship and was the fourth-ever to play at that level.
In his sophomore season, Watanabe averaged 8.4 points while leading his team in blocks. In his junior season, Watanabe upped his scoring to 12.2 a game, second best on his team, and was named to the All-Atlantic Defensive Team. In his senior season, Watanabe truly broke out as a player, averaging 16.3 points a game and being named the All-10 Atlantic Defensive Player of the Year.
Watanabe declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, but went undrafted. He then played for the Brooklyn Nets in the Summer League. Afterwards, he signed a two-way deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and played for them for two seasons before signing another two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors in 2020.
Watanabe had two solid years in Toronto and became a great 3-and-D player. In 2022, he signed his first NBA contract by landing a deal with the Brooklyn Nets. It was here he got the most recognition playing alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. His 3-point shooting improved and he became amongst the best shooters in the league. Currently, Watanabe is playing for the Phoenix Suns.
Yuta Watanabe Ethnicity
Yuta Watanabe is East-Asian in ethnicity. Born in Yokohoma, Kanagawa, Japan, Watanabe’s family is rich in basketball history. His mother, Kumi, played for the Japanese Women’s basketball team and his father played for the Kumagai Gami Bruins at the professional level. Being around basketball all his life, Watanabe also developed a strong liking towards basketball and chose that as a career path. His favorite player was Kobe Bryant.
FAQs
A. Yuta Watanabe’s ethnicity is Japanese.
A. Yuta Watanabe plays for the Phoenix Suns.
A. Yuta Watanabe is from Japan.
A. Yuta Watanabe is 29 years old.
A. Yuta Watanabe plays as a shooting guard.
