Jameel Sharif Watkins (born August 2, 1977) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who last played for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...

of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

during the late 1990s, earning a reputation for his defensive proficiency and shot-blocking skills. His professional career has taken him all around the world, playing with over 20 different teams. In addition, between 2000 and 2007, Watkins had four

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

training camp/preseason stints but never played in a regular-season game for any of them.

High school and college career

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Watkins led Paul Robeson High School to an NYC championship and was earned honorable mention All-America honors by ''USA Today''. After redshirting the 1995–96 season, Watkins played in all but three games for Georgetown as a freshman in 1996–97, averaging 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in nine minutes per game. As a sophomore in 1997–98, Watkins stepped up when fellow big men Jahidi White and

Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje Ruben Bertrand Boumtje-Boumtje (born 20 May 1978) is a Cameroonian professional basketball executive and former player who last served as the assistant general manager of the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball ...

were sidelined with injuries, recording a 16-rebound game against West Virginia. In 31 games, he averaged 4.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. As a junior in 1998–99, Watkins started all 31 games and was the fifth-leading scorer on the team with a career-high 7.8 points per game. He also averaged a career-high 7.2 rebounds. As a senior in 1999–2000, Watkins played in every game, averaging 12.3 minutes per game. He was the third-leading shot-blocker on team with 1.1 per game. He also averaged 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He made a strong impression at the

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft (sports), draft camps, the other being the Orlando pre-Draft (sport ...

following his senior season at Georgetown, averaging 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds to help his team win the championship. Had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game and was named to the PIT All-Tournament team.

Professional career

Early years (2000–2007)

In his first professional season, the 2000–01 campaign, Watkins played in both the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

and the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

for the Fort Wayne Fury and the

Los Angeles Stars LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

. In April 2001, he signed a short-term deal with Spanish club

Cáceres CB Cáceres Club Baloncesto also known as Cáceres CB was a basketball club based in Cáceres, Spain, Cáceres, Spain. It was founded in 1961. History Cáceres CB club participated in 11 ACB League (from 1992 to 2003) and in two editions of the Li ...

to replace the injured Tim Perry. Watkins spent the first half of the 2001–02 season in Italy with Basket Livorno. He left the club in January 2002 and finished the season with the

Fayetteville Patriots The Fayetteville Patriots were an NBA Development League team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. Franchise history In 2001, the Fayetteville Patriots became one of the National Basketball Development League's eight charter fr ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. Following the 2001–02 D-League season, Watkins had a five-game stint in Puerto Rico for

Maratonistas de Coamo The Maratonistas de Coamo (English: Coamo Marathon Runners) was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Coamo, Puerto Rico, Coamo, that competed in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, National Superior Basketball (BSN) le ...

. For the 2002–03 season, Watkins returned to the Fayetteville Patriots. He later had a stint with Chinese team Shanshi YuJing in mid-2003. In January 2004, Watkins signed with the

Beijing Ducks The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢霹雳鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of th ...

for the rest of the 2003–04 CBA season. In April of that year, he moved to the Philippines where he played for the

Shell Turbo Chargers The Shell Turbo Chargers were a Philippine Basketball Association team from 1985 to 2005. It won four PBA championships, two from 1998 to 1999. Shell sold its franchise to PBL team Welcoat Dragons, Welcoat Paints in February 2006. Aside from be ...

during the

2004 PBA Fiesta Conference The 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference, or known as the 2004 Gran Matador Brandy-PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was tournament held by the Philippine Basketball Association and the first ever edition of the PBA Fiesta Conference. Pri ...

. In 10 games for the Chargers, he averaged 27.3 points, 18.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. Between 2004 and 2007, Watkins played in the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

for

Wonju Dongbu Promy The Wonju DB Promy is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), located in the city of Wonju. From its founding in 1996, the team has always been based in its home province of Gangwon. It has the rare distinction of b ...

. During this time, he also had off-season stints with

Kuwait SC Kuwait Sports Club () is a Kuwaiti professional football club based in Kuwait City. Their football team has won Kuwait Premier League 19 times and has won over 50 trophies overall. The club plays in the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium located i ...

(2005) and Kansas Cagerz (2006).

Later years (2007–present)

During the 2007–08 season, Watkins played in China for Fujian XunXin and in the Philippines for the Magnolia Beverage Masters. Between 2008 and 2010, he played for the

Jiangsu Dragons Jiangsu Dragons Kentier (), also known as Jiangsu Dragons or Jiangsu Kentier, are a Chinese professional basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Nanjing, Jiangsu. History In the 2004–05 seaso ...

, while he also had a mid-2009 stint in Puerto Rico for Cangrejeros de Santurce. Between 2010 and 2011, Watkins played in Colombia, Lebanon, China, Jordan, and the Dominican Republic. This was followed by more time in Asia between 2011 and 2015, playing in China, Korea and Japan, while also having stints in Venezuela and Lebanon. On March 27, 2016, Watkins signed a two-week contract with the

. On April 7, he parted ways with the Saints. He appeared in three games for the Saints, averaging 7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and had a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds on March 31 against the Southland Sharks.

References

External links