Hours past 5:00 pm on October 17, 2022 (US EST) . No transaction updates from the Brooklyn Nets. It means the Nets’ 17-men season opening roster is officially complete and Yuta Watanabe is one of them.

Some people might have doubted Watanabe would make it this time. It would be almost like a miracle if he did, because he had already done it before, including winning a spot among the Toronto Raptors' season opening roster in 2020 as a camp invitee. Miracle is miracle because it doesn’t happen too many times.

Even Watanabe himself admits that he considered looking for the opportunities in the G League and pursueing a call-up.

But his newly wed wife saw it differently. She reportedly said to her partner like “So, you’re changing what you’ve been successfully doing for a long time?” This conversation pushed him to start this season over again as a camp invitee for the Brooklyn Nets. “I was kind of convinced with the way she was taking this situation. At the end of the day, it's the NBA and not many people get this kind of opportunity."

Once he decided to believe in himself, he actually knew what to do. Then the miracle followed again for the 2022-23 season. He is now believed to be under a non-guaranteed one-year contract worth a veteran’s minimum of $1,968,175.

For Watanabe, the concept of miracle is a string of unbelievable efforts. But he knows how to put himself in the position where he can maximize the chances for it to happen.

Through the years, he kept proving it and miracles kept coming in his life. From making the NCAA D1 mid-major George Washington University as a complete stranger from Japan - a lowly country in the basketball world - to taking his team to their first-ever national title in 2016 Postseason NIT while playing the key role as a defensive stopper, to winning the Atlantic 10 Conference's Defensive Player of the Year award, let alone to earning a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies/Hustle to become just the second NBA player in the history of basketball in Japan.

After playing for Memphis for two years, he took the chance to join the Raptors’ training camp in 2020. Coach Nick Nurse, who liked his strong first step on the defensive end, cutting ability and 3P shooting on the offensive end and the hustle which spread all over the 94x50 hunk of wood, kept him as one of two two-way contract signees. In April 2021, Watanabe was able to upgrade his contract to the NBA standard form. None of them was given. He earned all of them.

Watanabe has beaten incredible odds time and time again to become who he is now - the one and only Japanese player who has sustained his career to the fifth season in the league.

This year, Watanabe showcased his improved shooting throughout the preseason schedule. He has shot 50% from beyond the arch (on five of ten shooting), which is the best figure among all Nets players. He had at least one made 3P shot in all four Nets’ preseason games.

“I’m possibly not highly rated as a defender by our coaches.” Watanabe said. “Because I’m regularly on KD and he’s always beating me as hell each day.” But it was such a valuable experience. There is no question that it helped him sharpen his defensive awareness and gave tons of extra motivation to try to stop the GOAT every time he stepped on the court during the practice.

People around the Nets – including Steve Nash the head coach - have realized by now that he’s a great addition to the squad. Nash reportedly said Watanabe seemed to have the ability to play with any group of players.

Watanabe said he needed to adjust to Brooklyn's style of defense where they basically play with the “no middle” concept. He has been used to the Raptors’ defense where he was expected to close the shooters in the perimeter and prioritized it in his mind. Now he is more focused on staying in front of his opponent and avoid middle lane drives.

Sarah Kustok, an Nets insider and an NBA analyst for the YES Network said “I want to spend one hour talking about Yuta” in “The Glue Guys” Pod cast. “He’s always smiling. He’s happy. He came from a great organization. Yuta, his story is incredible getting to the point where he’s at.” She described Watanabe “Someone who you like having around.”

“There are aspects to his game with his size, with his ability to defend, on top of the 3P shooting. But also like creatabiity... Put him on a ball screen. Put him in a pick & roll. There’s a lot of aspects of his game that I’m really, really excited about.”

Each game will be a test for Watanabe. But the reunion with coach Nurse and other Raptors at the Barkleys Center early in the season will add some joy to it as the Nets face the Raptors on October 21. At the same arena where Watanabe as a Raptor posterized now-a-teammate Kessler Edwards with a night-capping dunk in a last season's meeting (which Pascal Siakam gave 20 out of 10-point scale), he will try to give his best to contribute for the other side this time.

On February 28, the night of Watanabe's bed-time poster dunk, I was able to share a pan Pacific joy in Tokyo with great Blake Murphy in Toronto when he sent me a "What a dunk!!" message. As the Raptors fans know, Murphy is one of the greatest sports journalists based in Toronto who regularly covers the Raptors. And today on October 17, Murphy reached out to me from Toronto again and congratulated the success of the Japanese young man by messaging "I am so happy for Yuta. I think Brooklyn is a good fit for him."

Different team. Same respect and love. Which bring some sentiments to me as someone who put a lot of fucus on covering Watanabe and the Raptors for the last couple years... All I do now is wishing the best for both the Raptors and the Nets with Watanabe.

Watanabe expressed his own feeling by tweeting "For the moment, I'm in for the opening roster. I'm focused on the real challenge which comes along on my way..." The Japanese term "崖っぷち" which he hashtagged in his tweet means like "the edge of the cliff." It describes where he is mentally and how he's been feeling through this whole experience of securing his spot wth the Nets.

Now it's all set for Watanabe. He knows where he is and looks ready for the challenge. And for us, it's just time to enjoy the show.

Takeshi Shibata / GetsuBas

（月刊バスケットボール）