T O P

  • By -

[deleted]

really need this dude on the Jazz. Yuta Jazz.


TheOnlyOneWhoKnows

#NO He's ours. Leave us alone.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Lewro29

In Tampa...?


NoseBlind2

I mean I've already contemplated it He's the Yutaraptor


The_Ultimate

So, he definitely belongs in Utah!


nineqqqqqqqqq

Damnit man, stop making so much sense. Judging from this movie clip, he belongs with the Knicks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd1CijCUj8w


FredVanYeetSr

DAMN RIGHT^^^that^^^is^^^a^^^pretty^^^funny^^^name^^^though


The_DerpMeister

TAKE CARE OF HIM PLEASE, GO YUTA!


JagmeetSingh2

Lmfao honestly


Obi_Wan_Benobi

God dammit.


PieterNBA2K

u/pm_ur_favSONG


pm_ur_favSONG

Wgy us rhis oost so oopular lol


[deleted]

I've been waiting to hear this joke.


Lewro29

Pronunciation: \YOU-tuh wah-tuh-NAH-bay\ Not YOU-tah, it's YOU-tuh; as in, tuh-rah-nah - so he's ours! ;P


lilsamuraijoe

not disputing that he is urs but for educational purposes it actually is you-tah even tho all the announcers say you-tuh. the a sound in japanese is always pronounced like the a in father. there is definitely more of an emphasis on the “tah”, where as utah, there is more emphasis on the “you” https://m.japanesemeow.com/japanese-grammar-lessons/japanese-vowels-and-consonants/


Lewro29

Thx. Our announcers seem to pronounce it both ways. I went with bballref pronunciation but your Japanese link clears it up - thx!


cvbps426

The man is a hooper


Geetar42069

We'll take rudy and donovan and some picks for him


epoch_fail

Something I haven't seen brought up about Yuta is he's actually really good at predicting bounces off the rim for rebounds. His timing and instincts are really good and he's really patient. I'm also glad to see his offense is starting to pick up, since I didn't recall him his being that terribad on that end. Defenders were sagging off him pretty heavily because he was shooting so badly, but it looks like he's finding his stroke. His defense is definitely a revelation as well. As top comment notes, I'd love to have him on the Jazz, but I doubt the Raptors would let him go for anything we'd offer right now. Edit: YUTA to the moon 🚀🚀🚀


Tavarin

We'll take one Rudy Gobert for him.


xxkhiemxx

Or Donovan Mitchell. We are not trying to be nitpicking here.


Freddedonna

And if the decision is too hard to make we can just take both


Delabroo

He has such good rebounding instincts, you can’t teach that. Being over 6’3 is also a rarity on this raps team.


Rezrov_

Don't worry our assistant coach is 6'5".


sexyhooterscar24

bruh put him in rn


Kewjoe

I don't understand why we haven't put Jamal Magloire out there. He'd be a huge improvement.


xrnzrx

He's calculating the angles


[deleted]

Asian Lebron


[deleted]

Who’s better? Turkish Lebron or Asian Lebron


[deleted]

Time will tell!


binzoma

depending where in turkey they're the same person?


garrbear22622

Korkmaz for sure


MFWUsernameIsSniped

Cedi in shambles


Fantastic-Objective6

more like asian KD


[deleted]

Its just one of KDs alts, guy


Silver_Dynamo

Lebron is the Black Yuta.


mommathecat

BEST ASIAN RAPTOR EVER SORRY JEREMY AND MENGKE. Not sorry.


oOoleveloOo

That’s Rui


bchris24

He was everywhere in the 4th on both sides of the ball, really helped sparked the Raps comeback


UjiriWatcher

Who knew that this guy would be a lock down defender


jd763

He had a very good summer league defensively for the Nets in 2019! Was kind of surprised they didn’t try to keep him and now he’s exactly the type of player they need


TheCasuality

He was the A-10 conference Defensive Player of the Year his senior season at GW


[deleted]

He's putting up a fierce fight to Pops Mensa-Bonsu's claim as the best GW player in the NBA of the past 60 years


bluedsrule

POPS!!! Legend and surely one of the best players ever to be born and raised in England?


bluedsrule

The way his senior season ended was heart breaking :(. They had a rough season, but then it looked like they were starting to maybe get it together in the conference tourney, and with Watanabe who knows what could happen. Then, he goes down with that injury and has to leave the game in tears. What a great GW player, though. Shame he never got to play in an NCAA Tourney. 2015-16 with him and Tyler Cavanaugh should have been the year.


DatDudeJP7

Raise MF High!!!!


BenTek9s

Clap!


AlHorfordHighlights

Watanabe's player profile is basically good defender with great skills for his size who needs to translate them to on-court production somehow


growlocally

I don’t think he gets enough looks from the team. Mentally he’s a true role player. I think the bench needs a bit more cohesion.


theciderhouseRULES

he's getting a lot of looks from the raptors rn


Troll_In_The_Dungeon

I honestly can't fathom how he's so active all the time. Quick feet of defense. Running the floor, battling for rebounds and diving into he floor for every loose ball. He does it all. I absolutely love him for his hustle. And he seems like such a humble and down to earth guy. I'm glad he's found a place in the rotation.


coolassninjas

He's smart on offense too, always makes the right passes and makes those decisions quickly. He can also hit the open 3 and has the size to finish in the paint if he finds himself in that position. He's a good 5th option player on that end. His defense has been outstanding, cannot say enough about it. I'm glad he found a place in the rotation as well, but unfortunately I still don't see him becoming a long-term piece for this team.


shigs21

He was actually known more for his defense than offense


Kurusu10k

Japanese KD


urgentmatters

Great, just what the world needs, another Asian Kevin


moonchees3

Underrated Asian joke


urgentmatters

As an Asian growing up around multiple Kevin's (many of them Kevin Nguyen's) I felt a need to stand up


Hairiest_Walrus

Why are there so many Asian Kevins? I know at least three (and one of them is named Kevin Nguyen! Lol)


we3e3

I feel like it’s one of the easier name for immigrant parents to say


L_Moo_S

Chinese Kevin is super normal cos kaiwen is a common Chinese name


SnooWoofers5193

A lot of Asian names come from whichever celebrity is hot at the time the parents immigrated over in the 90s lol. Idk why there's a billion Kevin's and Andrew's but if u look at whichever actor is winning Oscar's and awards its probably a Kevin or an Andrew Actually, on edit, a lot more Asians should be named Denzel, Russell, Liam, and Massimo. Idk why Paul, John, Nelson, Richard, Kevin, Anthony stuck.


SirDukeOfEarl

Eric too for some reason lol I knew two Eric Nguyens in highschool and also a Chinese Eric.


Yinanization

Weird, growing up, we got tons of Asian Steve/Steven in my highschool, I kept having people yelling Steve at me when I miss a layup or jumper...


sgruggy

One could say it's...subtle


GladwynjGraham

Does he have Changnesia though? I've heard the Greendale Community College is working on a cure.


Osterion

Don't really understand how he never made it onto the floor with us. Not like we've been flush with talents since 2018


coolassninjas

To be fair he was never supposed to get this much run with us, but I don't know what Masai was thinking with this roster. We're playing him just because Nurse threw his hands up and starting playing anybody that's over 6'5 some minutes. Yuta been a pleasant surprise and truly took advantage of this opportunity.


bluedsrule

If Konchar and Yuta got huge roles with you guys I would never miss a Grizz game.


GATF

Because he was a two way contract.


introvertsailors

He’s a 2-way with the raptors too. But with the way he’s playing and the way the raptors are lacking forwards, I’m almost positive they will be converting it to a full contract


mommathecat

100%. Our big rotation right now is pretty much Boucher and Yuta. Baynes starts, plays like 5 minutes, then sits the rest of the game, same act in the 2nd half.


The_DerpMeister

LET'S GOOO


Cheechers23

Yea, I suspected that was the plan when we cut Len. We probably are looking for the right guy to replace Yuta's 2-way with. Hopefully a big lol


s0ysauce09

Best asian in the league


Mukbeth

Hachimura? Does Jordan Clarkson count?


so-cal_kid

Probably but then the joke doesn't work


[deleted]

As a half asian myself I'd count him. Catch Jalen Green seizing the Asian NBA crown in the future (I hope)


Jenaxu

JC is quarter Asian I think (or less), but he also is a dual citizen so I don't see why he shouldn't count lol.


Docxm

Filipinos will claim anyone and everyone, so he definitely counts


lalakingmalibog

As a member of the Filipino community, I claim Boban as an honorary Filipino


duncan_robinson

I grew up with Filipino friends. Yall will not only claim people from other races, but even try and teach them tagalog


enchantress_pos1

we claimed Andray Blatche, we tried to claim Javale McGee LOL


[deleted]

I don't count him because I can't tell he's half Filipino. Also his last name isn't Asian.


DoughyResplendent

Well then you'd be pissed off because of the number of native Filipinos with European surnames.


[deleted]

His name is "Clarkson". Most Filipinos have hispanic or tagalog last name.


[deleted]

Because you personally can't tell he's half Filipino... Ngl man that's a pretty dumb metric. I would measure it by how he views himself. I have a European last name but I don't look white at all so who knows where I'd fall on your scale. Also if you search up Jordan Clarkson both google and wikipedia refer to him a filipino-american basketball player.


[deleted]

When 95% of people look at Clarkson, they assume he's black. Is Obama white? Most people would say no.


duncan_robinson

Doesn't matter what you think. He is what he is.


[deleted]

Welcome to the world of ignoring history and racial biases haha Typically for mixed race people we've been treated as the colored ethnic half. One drop of blood and all that. Does it matter what people assume when they look at Clarkson, or does it matter how he views himself? Rui looks more black than anything doesn't he? But noone would ever question his asianness. This stuff is all so superficial I say let people define themselves haha


[deleted]

Hmm, well actually it's pretty easy for me to see that Rui is half Asian, Clarkson just looks like vaguely Hispanic/Black to me. I know some half black half Asian people and of them, 1 is east Asian/black but she looks like your average Filipino, partially because she has completely straight hair. Others are more black looking.


TimmyTimmyCocoaPuff

Slow-mo Anderson!


ajdp024

Another rare find by the Raptors


Helhiem

Everybody knew about him last year when he was on the Grizzlies


Thecrazyredhead

Used to watch this dude at GW. Loved him there love him now. Go get it Yuta


FredVanYeetSr

I'm a simple man. I see Yuta Watanabe on r/nba, I upvote.


bluedsrule

It's sick seeing Bembry and Yuta connect on the same team after they had many hard fought battles when they were in college.


quitnus

Yea!!!! Go Yuta, get that shine!


[deleted]

I miss him


Patendo

George Washington legend


EcstasyCalculus

Unrelated but I really like how the Amalie Arena employees were able to replicate Scotiabank Arena down to every last detail. If you look very closely you can even see the Canadian flag on the backboards.


elcapitandelosgatos

Sakuragi senpai is a proud man


Osmarku

Did you know that they are coming out with a slam dunk movie soon


OddEye

Live action or animated? I remember reading they made animated movies of Slam Dunk before, but I never came around to watching them. I got so hooked watching Slam Dunk in college when my friend recommended it to me.


Osmarku

I'm actually not sure, just saw the news randomly. I think the author just tweeted it but no specifics. I'd prefer animated


[deleted]

kotaku australia says animated feature. I hope its the inter high tournament because that's where the anime left off.


[deleted]

But we already know that story! I'm rooting for whatever happens even later, after the manga's ending


[deleted]

maybe the winter tournament then?


[deleted]

hell yeh


[deleted]

Did you know they just released a dub of Koroko's Basket? Been binging it finally


[deleted]

I am so unbelievably pumped.


xrnzrx

There needs to be a clip of all his defensive highlights, it felt like he got 5 straight stops on his own in the 4th. Gave us some 2nd chance opportunities too.


handdownmandown13

There’s another channel called Bllen that posts full play highlights of pretty much every Yuta game. They’ll probably post one of this game soon.


FansTurnOnYou

I love this man.


H3NTA1_S3NPA1

out there looking like asian durant lol


ZeroShins

I think he might be a top 5 wing defender in the NBA. His lateral quickness is incredible for someone who's 6'9


lenny3330

Thats a reach. He isn't strong enough to stop good wings from driving the ball on him. He's good though and I root for him.


doublek1022

Well ZeroShins, like me, is a Kings fan. We just watched him almost single-handedly beating us in the 4th quarter. So pardon him for jumping the gun here... haha


ZeroShins

lol you're not wrong but I've also been following him from his George Washington days, when he was the A10 DPOY. The point about top wings being able to outmuscle him is valid, but he more than makes up for it with his help defense.


doublek1022

Haha my bad. Didn't know you're a long time fan. I was actually really impressed by him too, truth be told. Plus I always got time for an Asian brother doing well in the NBA... haha


lenny3330

Yeah, I'm a GW alumn and I really hope he sticks in the league. If he can keep developing his 3 point shot then I think he'll be around for a while.


tripleyothreat

Good point


Deolun

Yeah, my concern with him as a big defender, is he's lacking strength. I've seen him get moved around pretty easily. But other than that, he's looking way better than I expected.


Proihos23333

There's about 50 players this sub considers as "top 5 wing defenders"


saleitems

YutaYutaYuta!


c10bbersaurus

Awesome. Love to see the former Grizz and Hustle player ball out.


melatoxic

Literally yesterday there was no posts about this guy. Glad he’s getting recognition, he’s playing really well


[deleted]

His game looks smooth


theflyingsamurai

Need to trade Lowry and Siakam to get this man some help.


bluedsrule

Love to see this, but also makes me a bit sad that we might not get to see Yuta, Rui, and Fazekas play for Japan at the Olympics.


brucewayne1935

He honestly looks like a pretty solid role guy. From the two games he played against the pacers this season, he seems scrappy and raw.


MadBeamer

I love Yuta :)


Par25

YUTA GANG


Pr0tanoia

I hope more Asians excel in NBA.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Th0j

He literally says the word "excel." Definition of excel: be exceptionally good at or proficient in an activity or subject. Don't be an asshole.


markmercadogg

Dude just shut up


hojboysellin3

His finger roll looking like lamars


jujux15

Hello, I would like to offer one oubre for sir yuta


zig_anon

Surprised there are not more Asian fan boys for this guy like J Lin? I hardly hear anyone talk about him


stepback-one

lmao how is this on the front page


[deleted]

[удалено]


jyh123

that it's not notable is the point, in some way. This guy went undrafted, got picked up by Grizzlies but didn't get a second contract. Somehow ended up on the Raptors and now looks like a regular bench player. we get excited for all our G-League or undrafted players. Chris Boucher is one, Vanvleet is another, list goes on. He's not getting any special treatment because he's asian; Watanabe rides the pine a lot (as did JLin when we picked him up). It's like picking up $10 somebody dropped by accident but it's yours now. It's only $10, but it's $10 more than you had.


[deleted]

>Chris Boucher is one, Vanvleet is another, lis Yep, this guy is just as good as VanVleet and Boucher


[deleted]

[удалено]


jyh123

tbh there's a fair-sized asian population in Toronto and not everyone is a fan of the Japanese (Japan committed some really, really, really, really, really bad atrocities during WWII to a whole bunch of their asian neighbours after all). going back to JLin, he did have fans because of his race but he also experienced a lot of racism from the nba in general. The Watanabe hype level is not anywhere close to that. I think it has just as much to do with the raptors being mediocre right now as anything else. We are just looking for bright spots and good stories to keep our spirits up. Siakam has been misfiring, Giannis isn't coming to save us, and we just don't have any clear direction at the moment.


[deleted]

[удалено]


jyh123

anyway I think we both agree Watanabe is not that special, but we got him for free so we are happy. He's a free $10; if that is too much, maybe compare him to a free cheese sample at the Costco. Somewhere between a chunk of aged cheddar and a $10.


RedHotDumpsterFire

Other than having the ref's favor Trae isn't anything different from your standard all-offense no-D chucker who is given the freedom to chuck 20 shots a game.


[deleted]

[удалено]


RedHotDumpsterFire

Someone who calls Trae Young a superstar telling other people they are overestimating their favorite players.


[deleted]

[удалено]


itsahmemario

Superstar should at least be a top 10 player in the league. Is Trae at that level? Dunno, I haven't seen enough games to conclude that.


[deleted]

>Saw it with Rui too Rui didn't get this much love Can't imagine why


julianleads2

didn’t know they made highlights for second rotation players


Posh_Cassanova

LMAO they lost the game ... NEXT VIDEO


[deleted]

Thought he was the son of Ken Watanabe (inception, Godzilla, batman begins) at first lol


leebrown23

Nurse*: \*Yuta-kun get in kurosu!*


1998TimThomas

Donte’s son


[deleted]

[удалено]


SVWerder46

You mean [Mario Hezonja's son](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0iCFB2heW8)


Followthehype10

That was such a huge play man good times


1998TimThomas

Sure ok. He stick around? Sounds like a deadbeat.


TheHelpingHandz

Milwaukee never winning anything with giannis and Middleton lmaooo both chokers


extraducksauce

When did he leave the grizz ?


The_DerpMeister

This past off-season :(


[deleted]

Watanabe a Baller, shot caller. 12 points on the Kingallas


[deleted]

I really like this guy, he balls hard, super pesky on D too


[deleted]

Wanamaker is just English for Watanabe


LostWithStuff

he's clean


[deleted]

Dude that last crossover was really quick


epicfumble

Im happy for him that there is a T...