Paul Watson Jr.

Paul Watson Jr. (born December 30, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Paul Watson Jr.
No. 1 – Toronto Raptors
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1994-12-30) December 30, 1994
Phoenix, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolParadise Valley (Phoenix, Arizona)
CollegeFresno State (2013–2017)
NBA draft2017 / Undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017BG Göttingen
2017–2019Westchester Knicks
2019–2020Raptors 905
2020Atlanta Hawks
2020–presentToronto Raptors
2020→Raptors 905
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Watson attended Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Arizona. He led the team to a state championship and was named Most Valuable Player.[1]

College career

Watson was selected as the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year in 2014 after averaging 10 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.[2] As a junior, he was sidelined with an ankle injury in the last three games of the regular season which limited his minutes. He helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 that year.[3] Watson posted 7.7 points per game as a junior.[4] As a senior, he averaged 11.4 points, 5.2 rebound and 1.4 assists per game and made 33 starts. Watson participated in the College Basketball Slam Dunk competition in 2017.[1]

Professional career

Prior to the 2017 NBA draft, Watson worked out with the Phoenix Suns.[1] After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, Watson joined the Toronto Raptors for the Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 4 points per game in five games.[5]

BG Göttingen (2017)

Watson signed with BG Göttingen of the German Basketball Bundesliga in August 2017.[6] However, he was released by the club in October after appearing in one game and scoring six points and grabbing two rebounds.[7]

New York Knicks (2017–2019)

Watson was selected with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA G League Draft by the Westchester Knicks and signed with the team.[5] He averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in his first season with the Knicks. Watson signed a deal with the New York Knicks on October 5, 2018,[8] but was waived two days later.[9] He was added to the Westchester Knicks training camp roster.[10]

Raptors 905 (2019–2020)

For the 2019–20 season, the Raptors 905 acquired Watson’s returning player rights from Westchester.[11] He averaged 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, making 13 starts.[12]

Atlanta Hawks (2020)

On January 6, 2020, the Atlanta Hawks announced that they had signed Watson to 10-day contract.[13] On January 15, 2020, the Atlanta Hawks announced that they had released Watson.[14]

Toronto Raptors (2020–present)

Watson was signed to a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors on January 15, 2020.[15] He also wears number 1 for the Raptors when not with the Raptors 905.

On August 14, 2020, Watson had an NBA career high 27 minutes, 22 points and six rebounds coming off the bench to lead the Raptors to a 117-109 win in their final regular season game in the NBA Restart Season against the Denver Nuggets.[16]

On December 19, 2020, Watson got converted from a two-way contract to a multi-year contract.[17]

References
  1. Esparza-Cronkite, Jose (June 12, 2017). "Watson calls Suns workout 'amazing'". Kingman Daily Miner. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  2. Moore, Jackson. "Watson: MW Freshman Of The Year". 247sports. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  3. Kuwada, Robert (November 8, 2016). "Fresno State's Paul Watson embracing multi-position role on court". Fresno Bee. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  4. "Mountain West Conference college basketball season preview for 2016-17". USA Today. November 8, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  5. "Westchester Knicks snag Paul Watson, 5 more in 2017 NBAGL Draft". The Sports Daily. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  6. "Göttingen holt Paul Watson". Basketball.de (in German). August 11, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  7. Fleischmann, Sven (October 17, 2017). "Göttingen trennt sich von Paul Watson". BBLprofis.de (in German). Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  8. "Knicks' Paul Watson: Inks deal with Knicks". CBS Sports. October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  9. "Paul Watson: Waived by Knicks". CBS Sports. October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  10. "Westchester Knicks Announce 2018-19 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  11. "Raptors 905 Acquire Returning Rights To Watson". NBA.com. October 15, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  12. "Hawks sign Paul Watson from G League to 10-day contract". ESPN. Associated Press. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  13. "Hawks Sign Paul Watson To 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  14. "Atlanta Hawks Release Paul Watson Jr". NBA.com. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  15. "Who is Paul Watson? Fast facts on the Toronto Raptors' latest signing". NBA.com. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  16. "10 things: Stanley Johnson, Paul Watson cap regular season with another win". ca.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  17. "Raptors convert Paul Watson Jr. to main roster contract, cut Brissett, A Johnson, and Ellenson". raptorsrepublic.com. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
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