Author: Sunset Scribe
Bemburi made a rash defensive decision.
He tried to cut off McLaughlin's pass with Edwards to get a quick chance to bounce back. But unfortunately, he overestimated his arm span. The basketball crossed his fingertips and reached Edwards' hands. At this time, there is no defender in front of him, and there is a smooth road in front of him, directly to the Raptors' restricted area.
Edwards had plenty of room to start, he dribbled the ball twice, got up in the air. Baynes wanted to go up and cover it, but on second thought, he graciously closed himself. After all, few people want to open social media and see themselves caught in the entire screen with people's partitions.
But Yuta Watanabe doesn't think so.
He rushed to Edwards' body with an arrow, jumped with full force, and tried to block, but it was too late, and the basketball was slammed into the basket. That scene was so violent that even Watanabe's teammates sitting off the field couldn't bear to watch it.
Destined to be a scene that Watanabe will never forget
Posters, the top ten balls, one is indispensable, and for many years to come, whenever people mention Edwards' dunk masterpiece, it will be indispensable to The name of Yuta Watanabe.
Knowing that I have a high probability of becoming a background board for being buckled, I want to try. Is it worth it?
His response went something like this: "When you're done with that kind of septum, you know you're going to be the laughing stock of people and be famous in a very unfriendly way." But for me, I had no choice but to try to stop his attack. I'd rather be held in the back than have my opponent easily score two points. ”
If you don't try, if you don't fight, how do you know you can't?
This is Yuta Watanabe
It is simply the male protagonist who came out of the Japanese JUMP hot-blooded juvenile manga.
In 1994, Yuta Watanabe was born in Yokohama, Japan, to a basketball family, both of whom played in the Japan Basketball League, and because of the influence of his family and the NBA since childhood, he began to practice basketball at a very young age, and at the age of 16, he was selected to join the Japanese national basketball team, setting a record for the youngest at the time. In the Japanese basketball world, Watanabe has the nickname "The Chosen One", which is enough to see how high expectations they have for the Japanese people.
In 2013, Watanabe went to the United States alone and began his pursuit of basketball dreams. 1 year later, he successfully entered the university, where Watanabe played for 4 seasons, from the initial sixth man, to the later team main force, and was selected as the best defensive player in the league in 2018.
But such a resume was not enough to help him get the recognition of the NBA team, and watanabe still lost the draft in the 2018 draft. There were only two paths left before his eyes:
Or, leave the United States and return to Japan, where he can get a better income as well as a reputation;
Or, stay in this forest of the weak and seek the opportunity to prove yourself in the most humble way.
Watanabe, chose the latter.
He accepted an invitation from the Nets to play in the 2018 Summer League, averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 boards per game.
It wasn't great, but it helped him win a two-way contract with the Grizzlies. He plays for the team 45 days a season — a rule that has been lifted this season — and the rest of the time is spent in the development league. Such conditions determine that Watanabe can only exist as a "firefighter", it is difficult to obtain a stable team role, two seasons, he played a total of 33 games in the NBA, a total of 279 minutes, most of which are garbage time.
But Watanabe thought that at least it would give him a chance to continue to show and hone himself in the United States.
In those two seasons, Watanabe's performance in the G League went like this:
In 2018-19, he averaged 14.1 points per game, but did not perform well in terms of efficiency, shooting 43.4% from the field and only 33.3% from outside the three-point line. By the second year, Watanabe had improved his average of 17.2 points per game, shooting 54.2 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three-point range, and 65 percent from the field.
He got stronger, but the Grizzlies didn't take it all seriously. So he was called to Toronto and signed a contract with the Raptors. And the status is still humble - he got an Exhibit 10 contract.
The so-called Exhibit 10 contract, in fact, added an Exhibit 10 clause to the contract, that is, after the player is cut, he is still willing to accept the team's assignment to develop the league to play, which is a clause to facilitate the operation of the team and improve the overall flexibility. To put it bluntly, it is not as good as the two-way contract given by the Grizzlies before.
But Watanabe gladly accepted the arrangement, which was eventually endorsed by the team, and before the season began, his contract was turned into a two-way by the Raptors. After 4 months of ups and downs, he won the trust of Nas.
In his last 10 games, Watanabe has averaged 19.8 minutes of playing time per game, contributing 8.7 points, 4.2 boards, 1.5 assists plus 0.9 steals, shooting 60 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from beyond the three-point line.
In the game against the Magic, he played 27 minutes, shooting 7-of-11, 2-of-4 from outside the three-point line, scoring five free throws and hitting all of them to a career-high 21 points, plus six rebounds and two assists.
After the game, his teammate Watson said of Yuta Watanabe: "He was always the first to come to the gym and then the last to leave. ”
Compared with the teammates around him, Watanabe's talent is too inconspicuous, he is not strong, he is not fast enough, there is no exaggerated arm span, the style of the ball is simple, it is difficult for him to become a real star player on the NBA stage. But that doesn't mean Yuta Watanabe is doomed to fail here.
Just like he thought when he wanted to cover Edwards, how would you know if you didn't try it?
You can always see him running on the court, he will be in every position where he needs to appear, actively interfering with the opponent's shots, destroying the opponent's pass, and fighting for every rebound that may fall into his own hands.
This is how Watanabe earns respect.
With 36 minutes, he can average 5.5 three-point shots per game this season, ranking third among players who have played more than 500 minutes. At the same time, he also scored 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks, plus 2.1 rebounds in the frontcourt.
Just yesterday, the Raptors announced that Yuta Watanabe's two-way contract was converted into a formal contract, with a simple text, "win, not give", but it is like a portrayal of Yuta Watanabe's hard work in the NBA.
Opportunities are always for those who are ready.
Finally, let's turn the timeline back to October 28, 2018, when Yuta Watanabe made his NBA debut, he only played 5 minutes, took 2 points and 2 boards, and performed very generally, but this moment made Japan wait for 14 years. It was the first time since December 15, 2004, that a Japanese player had stepped onto the NBA stage since Yuta Tanabe played for the Suns.
He said in an interview after the game: "I hope that my performance will make Japanese fans proud, and I also hope that there will be children who will play in the NBA after watching this game as a dream that can be realized." ”
The dream that was not realized in "Slam Dunk Master" has slowly come true in this young man, and gives people unlimited reverie, just like Yuhiko Inoue's blank space, leaving him with unlimited possibilities.