Yuta Watanabe is officially having a moment for the Brooklyn Nets.
Just three days after scoring 20 and hitting a career-high five 3s, Watanabe once again played one of the best games of his career on Sunday against the Grizzlies, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. From the moment he checked in, Watanabe completely changed the energy for the Nets.
He also continued his hot 3-point shooting to open the year, hitting 4-of-6 from deep to raise his season percent to a sizzling 57.1 percent.
That all-around performance got the Brooklyn fans excited enough to give Watanabe a standing ovation upon exiting the game.
Yuta Watanabe is your league leader in 3-point percentage, at 57.1% (!!!)
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) November 21, 2022
16 points, 3 assists, standing ovation in a W against the Grizzlies last night. pic.twitter.com/vjweHBE5NF
MORE: How Yuta Watanabe became the NBA's most accurate shooter
Yuta Watanabe receives a standing ovation from Nets fans
Watanabe addressed the crowd postgame, thanking them for the love.
"That means a lot to me. Thank you for your help. We're going to keep getting better. Thank you guys," Watanabe said.
"You guys can tell how much my teammates trusted in me by how they passed the ball," Watanabe added. "They were giving me great passes. I just made open shots. That was a team effort."
Yuta Watanabe's new and improved shot
Watanabe has earned the trust of his teammates because of how quickly and accurately he's been able to shoot from 3 this season. Watanabe made only 12.5 percent of his 3's as a rookie for the Grizzlies in the 2018-19 season and didn't even hit the rim on his first career attempt. He has improved dramatically since then.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins noted those changes after the game. Per Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, Jenkins felt that Watanabe had sped up his release and increased his confidence. "He's letting it fly and not thinking about it," said Jenkins.
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Former Grizzlies Vice President John Hollinger agreed with Jenkins' assessment, calling it "100% true" in a tweet after the game. Hollinger later tweeted that he was "happy for Yuta," who has "really improved his shooting since his first year with us."
Watanabe has indeed improved substantially as shooter since his first two years in the league with the Grizzlies, both in terms of letting it fly and being more accurate.
| Year | 3-point attempts per 36 minutes | 3-point percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 3.3 | 12.5% |
| 2019-20 | 2.7 | 37.5% |
| 2020-21 | 4.5 | 40.0% |
| 2021-22 | 6.4 | 34.2% |
| 2022-23 | 5.9 | 57.1% |
Watanabe has made two major changes to get his shot off more quickly and accurately.
The first is using a 1-2 step instead of a hop when he gathers the ball. When Watanabe first came into the league, he would jump after catching passes in order to set his feet. Now, he takes one very small step with his right foot before receiving the ball, then one small step with his left to align his body after catching it.
The second major change in his shooting form is that he no longer drops the ball down to his thighs when he catches a pass. Instead, he keeps the ball above his waist, moving straight into his shot. That has resulted in a quicker wind-up, which is very noticeable side-by-side.
Watanabe has clearly put in a ton of work into reshaping his shot, and the results are paying off. He's leading the league in 3-point percentage, he's become a fan favorite in Brooklyn, and he's an integral part of their team.
