2024 NBA Draft: Gonzaga’s Anton Watson ranked No. 64 in The Athletic’s top 100 big board

Watson is one of Sam Vecenie’s “sneaky favorites” in the upcoming draft

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

For the last half-decade, Anton Watson has been an invaluable cog in the machine that is the Gonzaga Bulldogs. While most in the national media don’t predict the Spokane native’s prowess at the college level will lead to him being selected in next week’s NBA Draft, his versatility and two-way ability make him an intriguing prospect nonetheless.

In ranking the top 100 prospects for the 2024 NBA Draft, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie called Watson one of his “sneaky favorites” in the class and believes the 6-foot-8 forward is capable of defending at the next level, with the potential to add value on the other end of the floor if he makes improvements to his offensive game. Vecenie described Watson as “functionally” athletic and believed he was one of the few players in college basketball last season who could guard all five positions. 

“I think he can defend within an NBA scheme right away and has potential to add a lot of value on that end of the court if his offense improves enough to keep him on the floor,” Vecenie wrote. “He’s switchable and long, plus has great strength and good hip flexibility to stay on-balance in space. His help defense is sharp, and he is a good scramble defender.”

The advanced numbers certainly back up those claims. In his five seasons at Gonzaga, Watson finished second in program history with 215 steals, behind only Hall-of-Fame point guard John Stockton, and posted a career defensive rating of 94.5 (an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions). He also ranked in the top five in the West Coast Conference in defensive box plus/minus this past season (3.7; a box score estimate of the defensive points per 100 possessions a player contributed above a league average player) and defensive win shares (2.2; an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player due to their defense).

Simply put, Watson was the Bulldogs’ defensive anchor and as such, was tasked with guarding the opponent’s top offensive threat. Whether that be All-American forward Jaedon LeDee at San Diego State or two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey at Purdue, Watson accepted every assignment without complaint. Mark Few often called his fifth-year senior his “problem solver” for Watson’s ability to disrupt opponents in zone presses and for his high basketball IQ.

Vecenie noted Watson’s detailed understanding of concepts and strong anticipatory skills, specifically in regard to his timely cutting and improved passing out of double teams. Watson’s ability to finish at the rim, where he made 75.9% of his field goal attempts this past season according to hoop-math.com, while maintaining great body control stood out especially during his fifth season.

However, Vecenie questioned the lack of shot creation and consistency from behind the arc. Watson shot a career-best 41.2% from 3-point rage this past season, though he attempted fewer than two 3s per game and did most of his damage on catch-and-shoot opportunities. 

“[NBA scouts and general managers have] seen that I’ve improved from the 3-point line, but they want me to take more of them,” Watson said to Gonzaga Nation in May. “Proving that in these [pre-draft] workouts is huge and having the highest motor out on the court. I gotta be that guy every time, so that's just something that they kind of told me.”

Despite an ankle injury he suffered at the G League Elite Camp in May, Watson has held numerous pre-draft workouts with nearly half of the NBA leading up to next week’s draft. 

“I’d say the biggest thing … they just wanted to see me do more offensively and it was kind of hard because my ankle, I didn’t really have too much explosiveness,” Watson said earlier this week. “They just want to see me basically do what I did at Gonzaga. You know, talk, bring energy. They have so much film on me, like they've seen me play 1,000 times, but they wanted to see what I could do in front of them. I think offensively, they want to see more of me.”

Watson, ranked No. 64 on The Athletic’s final 2024 NBA Draft big board, doesn’t appear on most mock drafts. However, like Drew Timme just a year ago, some undrafted free agents sign Exhibit 10 or two-way contracts to play in the NBA Summer League. 

“I definitely feel like I should be one of the [draft] picks just based on what I've done at GU and just my growth since I've been there,” Watson said. “I feel pretty confident knowing that if I get my foot in the door, I'm gonna stay there. There's definitely a place ... I just got to get there. ... We'll see how the draft goes. But I think summer league is gonna be huge for me.”