Brooklyn Nets forward Yuta Watanabe began training camp on the roster bubble and improbably became the league’s top three-point shooter at 57.1 percent and is shooting an elite 60.9 percent from the field overall to this point.
Watanabe sat down with HoopsHype in Brooklyn’s locker room to open up about his journey to get to this point and rapid rise to notoriety. He discussed the pressure of representing Japan with Rui Hachimura as the only two players from their country and changing the narrative surrounding Asian basketball stereotypes. The Japanese forward also explained how Kevin Durant helped him improve as a shooter, his long-term future, and more in our interview.