Chris Watson (; born July 16, 1975) is an American–Israeli former basketball player, who has played on the

Israel national basketball team The Israel men's national basketball team () represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 39th in the FIBA Men's World Ranking, FIBA World Ran ...

, and whose positions have been power forward and center. He is tall. He attended

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

, where he led the Conference in 2-point field goals (165) in 1995–1996. He was inducted into the Niagara University Hall of Fame. Watson has played professional basketball for two decades. He has played primarily in Israel (with Hapoel Tel Aviv,

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball), and internationally in the Basketball Champions League. The ...

, Ironi Ramat Gan, GreenTops Netanya, and Ironi Ashkelon). Watson won the Israeli Championship with

in 2007–2008, and again in 2008–2009. He was selected to the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

All-Star Game in 2011. Watson has twice played on the

Personal life

Watson was born in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

. Watson attended White Plains High School, and then transferred to

Archbishop Stepinac High School Archbishop Stepinac High School is an American Single-sex education, all-boys' Catholic Church, Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York. It was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York until the 2009–2010 school yea ...

('93). He married an Israeli woman, Roni, and in 2003 he became an Israeli citizen. He and his wife have a daughter, Dream.

College

He attended

, where he played for the Purple Eagles basketball team in the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

. He led the team in scoring in his final three seasons, and was third in the Conference in scoring in both his junior (16.8 points per game) and senior (17.4 points per game, as he led the Conference with a .568

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

) seasons. He also led the Conference in 2-point field goals (165) in 1995–1996, was second in 2-point field goals (167) in 1996–1997 His 16

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s in a game against Siena on February 19, 1996, are tied for the most ever in a Conference game. He earned All-MAAC Tournament honors in both 1996 and 1997. He earned All-MAAC Second Team honors during the 1994–95 season, and was All-MAAC First Team in the 1995–96 season. He finished his college career with 1,711 career points, fourth at the time in Niagara history. He graduated in 1996. In 2016 he was inducted into the Niagara University Hall of Fame.

Professional basketball

Watson has played professional basketball for two decades. He has played in Belgium (

Leuven Bears Leuven Bears, for sponsorship reasons also called Stella Artois Leuven Bears, is a Belgium, Belgian professional basketball club from Leuven. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier in Belgian basketball. History The team has played ...

), Sweden, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Israel ( Hapoel Tel Aviv,

, Ironi Ramat Gan, GreenTops Netanya, and Ironi Ashkelon). He played two seasons in Uruguay where he was the second-leading scorer of the Uruguayan League, two seasons in Sweden ( KFUM Jamtland), and half a season in England. Coming to Israel, he played in

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

and then for Hapoel Tel Aviv. The following season Watson played for Migdal Ha'emek. Watson won the Israeli Championship with

in 2007–2008, and again in 2008–2009. He represented Israel at the Qualifications to European Championships 2009. He played for Ironi Ramat Gan in the National League in 2009–2010. Watson was selected to the

All-Star Game in 2011. In 2013–14 Watson played for Ironi Kiryat Ata. He played for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israel National League from 2014 to 2016. Watson also played on the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Chris 1975 births Living people American emigrants to Israel Naturalized citizens of Israel Centers (basketball) Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Hapoel Holon B.C. players Hapoel Migdal HaEmek B.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Elitzur Ashkelon players Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan players Ironi Kiryat Ata players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Israeli men's basketball players Israeli people of African-American descent KK Olimpija players Leuven Bears players Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball players Basketball players from White Plains, New York Power forwards American men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Israel Archbishop Stepinac High School alumni White Plains High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Naturalised basketball players