Forward Anton Watson is trying to prove himself as an unrestricted free agent playing for the Knicks during his second NBA Summer League and is not letting anybody slow him down – not even his best friend and former Gonzaga teammate, Drew Timme.
The former Gonzaga stars battled Tuesday in Las Vegas with Watson’s Knicks earning a 97-93 win over Timme’s Brooklyn Nets. Watson came off the bench and scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and pulled down three rebounds. Timme stood out for his team with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
“He got an ‘and one’ on me. I was pretty mad about that, but it’s super-competitive,” Watson laughed.
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Timme also did his best to try to distract his friend by talking to him at the free-throw line, but Watson had seen this trick before.
“He’ll be trying to joke on the court a little bit, trying to get me off my game, but you know I try to stay locked in,” Watson said.
“…He does that to everybody, though. It’s like, I know it’s coming, and he tries to have a little conversation on the free-throw line. Then he’ll come back down the court and spin move, right hook, you know, get an ‘and one’ on you. You just got to stay locked in when you’re playing against him.”
Ryan Nembhard leads ex-Zags in Las Vegas
Watson and Timme give Gonzaga seven players in Las Vegas, plus three more who finished their career somewhere else after playing for the Zags. Timme had his contract option picked up by the Nets at the end of June, but told CBS Sports he is “still trying to make it and stay in it.”
Another former Zag who has been shining is Ryan Nembhard, who is the younger brother of Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard.
Ryan, who has a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks, stole the spotlight in perhaps the most-awaited game of the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League. The Mavs, who countered with No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, were competing against the Los Angeles Lakers, who have Bronny James, son of NBA star LeBron James.
Ryan led the Mavs to an 87-85 win over the Lakers with 21 points, five assists, two rebounds and one steal. Watson played with both Nembhard brothers at Gonzaga and said Ryan has a similar game to Andrew.
“Yeah, he kind of stole the show, and I think he surprised a lot of people,” Watson said. “But I think if you played with him or know what he’s capable of, you wouldn’t be too surprised. The game looks easy to him. He shares the ball and he just plays the right way. So you know, it was cool to see that.”
Still learning from Mark Few
There was a dinner on Sunday with about 20 people connected to Gonzaga in attendance, including coach Mark Few — who saw 11 former Zags under an NBA contract last season. Few talks with his former players and has inspired Watson with some of his pep talks.
“Just go for it, you know. Be myself and play with high energy,” Watson recalled Few’s advice to him. “He knows I’m a good player, and I have high IQ, so he believes in me. And going through this whole process I think that helps a lot, having people that believe in you and want to see you succeed. He’s been doing that the whole time while I’ve been out here.”
Watson graduated from Gonzaga in 2024 as the only player in school history to register 1,000 points, 700 rebounds, and 200 steals. During last year’s summer league with the Boston Celtics, Watson averaged 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 block while shooting 51% from the field. So far he has nine regular NBA season games under his belt, all with the Knicks, and said a year has made a big difference for him.
Watson has learned to become more aggressive on offense. He also focused on getting physically stronger after his welcome to the NBA moment involved a Raptors player pushing him out of the way “a little bit too easy” and made him look “like a little kid.”
Watson also embraces defense, which was something he prided himself on during most of his college basketball career.
“When I first came in the league, I think it’s going to be for short spurts of time when I’m on the court,” he said. “So I’ve got to do something to bring energy, shift the way the game’s going and help my team at any cost. I think that’s going to be my role… I know what I’m capable of, my IQ and my mentality in games. I think it’s all going to play out.”
