Skip to content

Raptors sign Japanese forward Yuta Watanabe to standard NBA contract

20210419110452-fa9283de7b5125b0f7f28ed08221e33928d18b62b05899dc75030214f6075253

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors have signed forward Yuta Watanabe to a standard NBA contract. 

The six-foot-nine, 205-pound native of Yokohama, Japan is averaging four points, 3.3 rebounds and 13.4 minutes in 39 games (one start) as a two-way player with the Raptors this season. 

He is shooting .448 (56-125) from the field, including .400 (24-40) from three-point range, and has scored in double figures six times, including the Raptors' last three games. 

Watanabe recorded a career-high 21 points in Toronto's 113-102 win over Orlando on Friday.

Watanabe spent the previous two seasons as a two-way player with Memphis.

He played collegiately at George Washington (2014-18), where he was named Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year as a senior.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2021.

The Canadian Press


Looking for National Sports News?

VillageReport.ca viewed on a mobile phone

Check out Village Report - the news that matters most to Canada, updated throughout the day.  Or, subscribe to Village Report's free daily newsletter: a compilation of the news you need to know, sent to your inbox at 6AM.

Subscribe