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Earl Watson to join Toronto Raptors staff, UCLA ties show support

The former Bruin guard and Phoenix Suns head coach is headed north of the border

Sam Connon

Earl Watson to join Toronto Raptors staff, UCLA ties show support
Earl Watson to join Toronto Raptors staff, UCLA ties show support /

After four years out of the NBA, Earl Watson is back in the Association.

The former UCLA men's basketball guard is set to join the Toronto Raptors coaching staff, Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported Monday. Watson spent parts of three seasons as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, starting with the final 33 games of the 2015-2016 season and ending with the first three games of the 2017-2018 campaign.

Watson's teams own a 33-85 record when he's at the helm.

Nick Nurse is the head honcho is Toronto, where he's led the Raptors to a 133-88 record over the last three years. Nurse and the Raptors won the 2019 NBA Championship, but failed to make the postseason in 2021.

The UCLA community congratulated Watson on his new gig, including shoutouts from his former coach, his Bruin backcourt mate and the department's new athletic director.

Before getting into coaching, Watson was a 13-year NBA veteran, playing for six franchises between 2001 and 2014. Watson posted career averages of 6.4 points and 4.4 assists per game, with his best year coming in 2007-2008 when he averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 assists a contest for the then-Seattle Supersonics.

Looking back to his college days, Watson was a four-year starter for the Bruins. Watson opened his UCLA career with an appearance on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in 1998 and wrapped it up by earning a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team in 2002.

While his coaching days haven't seemed to match the success of his playing career on paper, many have credited Watson with tapping into eventual All-Star Devin Booker's potential – including Booker himself.

Watson wasn't able to stick around in Phoenix and reap the reward of Booker's development, but he's now riding that good will into another coaching job in the NBA.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.