By now, you probably know that Suns superstar Kevin Durant is one of Yuta Watanabe’s biggest fans.
The two were teammates on the Nets last season before Durant was traded to Phoenix in a blockbuster deal at the deadline. Prior to that move, Durant had publicly praised Watanabe several times while the 28-year-old played a key role off the bench in Brooklyn.
Durant lauded Watanabe for his energy, said his developing jump shot looked “perfect” and, at the time, had preached the importance of the Nets trying to sign Watanabe long-term because “a lot of people are going to want him.”
After reading that last part, it shouldn’t surprise you that Durant was Watanabe’s biggest recruiter in trying to get him to sign with the Suns in free agency.
Watanabe had already told the media that Durant was one of the reasons he signed with Phoenix.
“I really enjoy playing with him. He’s a great teammate, a great guy, great leader. So, after he got traded I was actually really sad, but I’m glad that I have another opportunity to play with him,” Watanabe said.
“We have good chemistry — we played really well together last year in Brooklyn. I hope that we can keep playing well together in Phoenix.”
Durant echoed that sentiment in a media availability over the weekend.
“Definitely,” he said when asked if he recruited Watanabe to the Suns. “Once they told me he was one of the guys they was targeting, I hit him up for sure.
“I like being around Yuta. I love the journey of somebody who’s a quiet guy but an extremely hard worker and he loves to play basketball. It’s that simple with him. I’ve enjoyed seeing his growth in his routine every single day when we were in Brooklyn, so I wanted to continue that here in Phoenix.”
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Durant continued to show love for one of his favorite teammates, complimenting his basketball IQ, work ethic and development.
“I was very excited. I enjoyed playing with Yuta in Brooklyn,” Durant began.
“Such a bright basketball player. Feel like he’s always in the right spot. He plays extremely hard on the defensive side of the ball as well and then on top of that, his jump shot is getting better and better each year.”
Durant saw the best of Watanabe’s jumper last season, where the sharpshooter shot a career-best 44.4 percent from 3-point range on a career-high 2.3 attempts per game.
Watanabe’s ability to space the floor, defend multiple positions and play with contagious energy will have him competing for the final starting spot on the Suns, joining Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic.
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Whether or not Watanabe earns that spot, Durant sees the Japanese forward playing a pivotal role in Phoenix this year.
“We hope for big things for him this season. I love that everybody has been enjoying the way he’s been playing in practice thus far so hopefully he keeps it up.”