Paul Watson Jr. (born December 30, 1994) 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 for the

Valley Suns The Valley Suns are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League and the affiliate of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Based in Tempe, Arizona and officially created on February 14, 2024, the team will play ...

of the

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

. 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

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

High school career

Watson attended

Paradise Valley High School Paradise Valley High School (PVHS) is a high school located in Phoenix, Arizona and was the first of five high schools built in the Paradise Valley Unified School District. Paradise Valley High School opened in 1957. The school's athletic teams ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. He led the team to a state championship and was named Most Valuable Player.

College career

Watson was selected as the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

Freshman of the Year in 2014 after averaging 10 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. 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. Watson posted 7.7 points per game as a junior. 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.

Professional career

BG Göttingen (2017)

Prior to the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, Watson worked out with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. After going undrafted in the draft, Watson joined the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 4 points per game in five games. Watson signed with

BG Göttingen Basketballgemeinschaft Göttingen () is a German basketball club based in Göttingen, Germany. In 2010, the club won the EuroChallenge against Krasnye Krylya Samara from Russia. The team plays in Germany's second division, the ProA. History Once ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

in August 2017. However, he was released by the club in October after appearing in one game and scoring six points and grabbing two rebounds.

Westchester 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 The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks play their home games at Westchester County Center in White Plains, N ...

and signed with the team. 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 The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

on October 5, 2018, but was waived two days later. He was added to the Westchester Knicks training camp roster.

Raptors 905 (2019–2020)

For the 2019–20 season, the

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fine Foods ...

acquired Watson's returning player rights from Westchester. He averaged 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, making 13 starts.

Atlanta Hawks (2020)

On January 6, 2020, the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

announced that they had signed Watson to 10-day contract. On January 15, 2020, the

announced that they had released Watson.

Toronto Raptors (2020–2021)

Watson was signed to a two-way deal with the

on January 15, 2020. 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 The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. On December 19, 2020, Watson got converted from a two-way contract to a multi-year contract. On April 16, 2021, Watson scored a career-high with 30 points and 8 made threes, leading the Raptors to a 113–102 victory against the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. On August 3, he was waived by the Raptors.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2021–2022)

On September 15, 2021, Watson signed with the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, on a two-way contract with the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games ...

. On December 29, 2021, Watson played a career-high 37 minutes in a 115–97 loss to the

. On February 10, 2022, Watson was released by the Thunder.

Austin Spurs (2023–2024)

On October 10, 2023, Watson signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, but was waived two days later. On October 31, he joined the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the po ...

Valley Suns (2024–present)

On October 16, 2024, Watson signed with the

, but was waived the next day. On October 27, he joined the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

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Playoffs

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References

External links

Fresno State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Paul 1994 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Phoenix, Arizona BG Göttingen players Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball players Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players Raptors 905 players Shooting guards Toronto Raptors players Undrafted NBA players Valley Suns players Westchester Knicks players United States men's national basketball team players