Basketball

Yuta Watanabe earns standing ovation from Nets crowd: These changes to 3-point shooting form are the biggest reason why

Watanabe has earned the trust of his teammates because of how quickly and accurately he's been able to shoot from 3 this season.

by
Stephen Noh
November 22, 2022

This article was first published in The Sporting News, and is used with permission on SportsLook.

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% (!!!)

16 points, 3 assists, standing ovation in a W against the Grizzlies last night. pic.twitter.com/vjweHBE5NF
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) November 21, 2022

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.

Read the full article in The Sporting News: Yuta Watanabe earns standing ovation from Nets crowd: These changes to 3-point shooting form are the biggest reason why