Anton Michael Watson (born October 6, 2000[1]) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
 Watson with Gonzaga in 2021 | |
| No. 28 – Boston Celtics | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / small forward |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 6, 2000 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Washington) |
| College | Gonzaga (2019–2024) |
| NBA draft | 2024: 2nd round, 54th overall pick |
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
| Playing career | 2024–present |
| Career history | |
| 2024–present | Boston Celtics |
| 2024–present | →Maine Celtics |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
High school career
editWatson played varsity basketball for four years at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington. In his sophomore season, he averaged 19 points per game and was named most valuable player (MVP) of the Greater Spokane League. Watson led his team to a league championship and a third-place finish at the Washington Class 4A state tournament.[2] As a junior, he averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game and won the Class 4A state title while earning tournament MVP honors.[3] Watson was selected to the USA Today All-USA Washington first team.[4] In his senior season, he averaged 21.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, helped Gonzaga Prep win a second consecutive 4A state championship. He was the unanimous MVP of the state tournament and recognized as Associated Press 4A Player of the Year and Washington Mr. Basketball.[5] On June 21, 2017, before his junior season, Watson committed to play college basketball for Gonzaga. He had also been in contact with Idaho, Washington and Washington State. Watson was considered a four-star recruit and the second-best player in the 2019 class from Washington.[6]
College career
editOn November 5, 2019, Watson debuted for Gonzaga, recording seven points, five rebounds and four assists in a win over Alabama State.[7] He had 15 points in a win over North Dakota on November 12.[8] Watson started four games with Killian Tillie recovering from knee surgery. On January 16, 2020, it was announced that Watson would undergo shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the season. He averaged 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15 games.[9]
Professional career
editBoston / Maine Celtics (2024–present)
editOn June 27, 2024, Watson was selected with the 54th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in 2024 NBA draft[10] and on August 2, he signed a two-way contract with them.[11]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Gonzaga | 15 | 5 | 14.7 | .538 | .111 | .571 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 1.2 | .5 | 4.9 |
| 2020–21 | Gonzaga | 32 | 17 | 18.9 | .631 | .150 | .650 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .6 | 6.9 |
| 2021–22 | Gonzaga | 32 | 0 | 18.1 | .538 | .227 | .698 | 4.7 | 1.9 | 1.3 | .3 | 7.3 |
| 2022–23 | Gonzaga | 37 | 37 | 29.1 | .608 | .333 | .548 | 6.2 | 2.4 | 1.8 | .7 | 11.1 |
| 2023–24 | Gonzaga | 35 | 35 | 31.3 | .578 | .412 | .653 | 7.1 | 2.6 | 1.5 | .7 | 14.5 |
| Career | 151 | 94 | 23.7 | .586 | .307 | .627 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | .6 | 9.6 | |
Personal life
editWatson's father, Deon Sr., played college basketball at Idaho (1990–94),[12] holds the Vandal record for career rebounds (877),[13] and played professionally in Europe and South America.[14][15] Older brother Deon Jr. played college football at their father's alma mater (2013–16) as a tight end and wide receiver, and sister Haile played volleyball at Eastern Washington (2015) and Fresno State (2016–18).[2]
References
edit- ^ "Anton Watson". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ^ a b Nichols, Dave (December 6, 2017). "Boys basketball preview: Anton Watson something special for Gonzaga Prep". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ Nichols, Dave (December 5, 2018). "Head of the class: Gonzaga Prep's Anton Watson remains calm under pressure entering senior season". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ "2017-18 ALL-USA Washington Boys Basketball Team". USA Today High School Sports. April 16, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ Nichols, Dave (March 7, 2019). "Gonzaga Prep's Anton Watson named 'Mr. Basketball' by state coaches association". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ Meehan, Jim (June 21, 2017). "Gonzaga Prep standout Anton Watson orally commits to Gonzaga". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ "Kispert Leads No. 8 Gonzaga Over Alabama State 95-64". Gonzaga University Athletics. Associated Press. November 5, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ "Petrusev leads No. 8 Gonzaga over North Dakota 97-66". ESPN. Associated Press. November 12, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^ Meehan, Jim (January 16, 2020). "Gonzaga freshman forward Anton Watson will have shoulder surgery, out for the season". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Khari (June 27, 2024). "Celtics select Gonzaga's Anton Watson with No. 54 overall pick". Boston.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ Boston Celtics [@celtics] (August 2, 2024). "We have signed Anton Watson to a two-way contract ☘️" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Grummert, Dale (March 12, 1994). "Idaho St. has UI's number". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
- ^ "2017–18 Men's Basketball media guide: Career records" (PDF). University of Idaho Athletics. 2017.
- ^ Cotterill, TJ (March 10, 2019). "Seattle Times All-State boys basketball team: All the winning sets Gonzaga Prep's Anton Watson apart". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ Blanchette, John (December 20, 2016). "Blanchette: Parallels of the two Deon Watsons are obvious in their Idaho careers". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 18, 2019.