Although Watanabe has become a reliable threat from the perimeter, his overall outlook remains bleak. He finished the 2022-23 season as the 299th-ranked player in standard leagues, the first time in his career that he has broken into the top 300. In 16 minutes per night, he averaged 5.6 points and 1.0 three-pointers. After signing a two-year deal with the Suns during the offseason, Watanabe should provide excellent floor spacing from the power forward position. There is a role to be had for Watanabe, assuming he can maintain elite efficiency from the perimeter. With that said, his game is very one-dimensional, meaning he is unlikely to crack 20 minutes very often. Outside of some potential streaming value, he is better suited to very deep leagues. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a one-year, $2.35 million contract with the Suns in July of 2023. Contract includes $2.65 million player option for 2024-25.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Watanabe was born in 1994 in Kagawa, Japan. Both of his parents played in Japan's top basketball leagues. Before coming to the United States, he led Jinsei Gakuen High School to second place in the 2010 and 2011 All-Japan Tournaments. He moved to the USA in 2013, playing his only scholastic season in the States at St. Thomas More High School in Connecticut. In signing with George Washington University, Watanabe became the first Japanese-born student-athlete to earn an NCAA Division I men's basketball scholarship. During college, he majored in Japanese Language and Literature. Fans can check out Watanabe on Instagram (@yutawatanabe12). Watanabe was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in his senior year at George Washington for the 2017-18 season. As a junior in 2016-17, he was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. The Kagawa, Japan native was third in the Atlantic 10 in blocks (54) and blocks per game (1.6) in his senior season. Along with those categories, Watanabe led George Washington in points per game (16.3), defensive rebounds per game (4.8) and field goals per game (5.8). Watanabe was not selected in the 2018 NBA Draft. He signed a contract with the Nets not long after in the summer of 2018.
Reclaims rotation spot in return
FPhoenix Suns
November 27, 2023
Watanabe (quadricep) tallied seven points (2-4 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 1-2 FT) in 15 minutes off the bench in Sunday's 116-113 win over the Knicks.
ANALYSIS After a four-game absence due to a bruised left quadricep, Watanabe received the green light to play Sunday and helped fill some of the minutes at forward while Kevin Durant (foot) missed his second game in a row. Wing Grayson Allen (illness) also sat out Sunday and is considered day-to-day along with Durant, so Watanabe could be a candidate to lose out on a rotation spot if both players are able to return to action Wednesday in Toronto. Watanabe appears to be competing with Keita Bates-Diop, Josh Okogie and Nassir Little for two available backup forward spots when Phoenix is at full strength.
2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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Advanced Stats
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Stat Review
How does Yuta Watanabe compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
53.0%
Effective Field Goal %
50.8%
3-Point Attempt Rate
78.8%
Free Throw Rate
19.7%
Offensive Rebound %
4.0%
Defensive Rebound %
10.6%
Total Rebound %
7.5%
Assist %
4.0%
Steal %
1.0%
Block %
1.9%
Turnover %
14.0%
Usage %
13.6%
Fantasy Points Per Game
10.2
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.6
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Suns Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Yuta Watanabe was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Seals Olympic berth for Japan
FPhoenix Suns
September 3, 2023
Watanabe and Team Japan finished the FIBA World Cup with a 3-2 record, including back-to-back victories over Venezuela and Cape Verde to clinch a spot in the 2024 Olympics.
ANALYSIS Watanabe led Japan with 35.0 minutes per game across his five starts, averaging 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds. The 28-year-old struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 25.8 percent of 31 attempts. He shot a palatable 42.9 percent overall. Watanabe is an NBA role player, so being a focal point of opposing defenses during international play is a reasonable explanation for his shooting struggles.
After two unimpressive seasons in Memphis, Watanabe signed a two-way deal with the Raptors last offseason. The 26-year-old's season was nothing too special, as he averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 14.5 minutes per game. While none of those stats are great, all of them marked career highs for Watanabe. The George Washington product also shot an impressive 40.0 percent from three as well. This year, it is looking like Watanabe is still going to be near the bottom of Toronto's rotation. The team has the likes of OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher on the team. The Raptors also added Precious Achiuwa, Scottie Barnes and Isaac Bonga. Due to Watanabe's unimpressive play and Toronto's depth at the position, it is hard to imagine a big season out of the three-year-pro.