Back يوتا واتانابي Arabic ياوتا واتاناب (لاعب كرة السله) ARZ Юта Ватанабе Bulgarian Yuta Watanabe (baloncestista) Spanish یوتا واتانابه Persian Yūta Watanabe Finnish Yuta Watanabe (basket-ball) French יוטה ואטאנבה HE Yūta Watanabe Italian 渡邊雄太 Japanese
 Watanabe with the Japan national team in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 18 – Chiba Jets Funabashi | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Small forward / power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | B.League | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | October 13, 1994 Yokohama, Japan | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school |
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| College | George Washington (2014–2018) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2018: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2018–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Memphis Grizzlies | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | →Memphis Hustle | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Toronto Raptors | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | →Raptors 905 | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Brooklyn Nets | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Phoenix Suns | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Memphis Grizzlies | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Chiba Jets Funabashi | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Yuta Watanabe (渡邊 雄太, Watanabe Yūta, born October 13, 1994) is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Chiba Jets Funabashi of the B.League. He played college basketball in the United States for the George Washington Colonials (now Revolutionaries), becoming the first Japanese-born student athlete to secure an NCAA Division I basketball scholarship.[1] He was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. He has also represented the Japan national team, helping them win the bronze medal at the 2013 East Asia Basketball Championship.
Before moving to the collegiate level, Watanabe attended Jinsei Gakuen High School in Zentsūji, Kagawa. He later transferred to St. Thomas More Preparatory School in Oakdale, Connecticut in 2013. Watanabe rose to fame in his high school program, and was one of their most valuable players in the National Prep School Invitational as a senior in 2014. In college, he became the fourth-ever Japanese-born Division I basketball player.