There was plenty of criticism for Peyton Watson when he announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility with the Bruins in favor of entering his name into the NBA Draft. Watson, the program's highest-rated signee in the 2021 class, averaged just 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds as a freshman for the Bruins.
Not exactly numbers that scream first-round draft pick. However, Watson moved forward with his decision and Thursday night his gamble paid off. The Long Beach native was selected at No. 30 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder but a draft night trade ultimately will have Watson suiting up with the Denver Nuggets.
The former five-star recruit played in 32 games during his lone season in Westwood averaging 12.6 minutes, but his upside as a prospect intrigued NBA teams enough to have him find a home in Denver.
Watson only scored in double figures three times last season, with his best scoring performance coming early in the season against Bellarmine when he hit nine of 12 shots from the floor en route to 19 points, but Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth sees the potential for what the young perimeter player can become at the next level.
That early-season performance in Las Vegas for Watson ultimately sparked the interest from the Nuggets leading to his selection Thursday night.
"It started actually early in the season, I was in Vegas and saw a game against Bellarmine when he got to play a lot," Booth said in a press conference with reporters Friday. "Everybody knows by now that at UCLA they had 10 returners ... so there wasn't a lot of opportunity to play. When he did play, he really committed to playing defense. It's noticeable when you do the film study.
"He's guarding all different positions, he's blocking shots, he's rebounding."
Watson is likely going to have to wait his turn to begin making contributions to the Nuggets, and Booth's hope is that the rookie can begin returning to form as a scorer after struggling on the offensive end of the floor during his lone season with the Bruins.
"Offensively, it didn't go well for him quite frankly, but I do think he has some offensive ability," Booth said. "Hopefully, he can get his confidence back through stints in the G-League and maybe preseason and summer league."
When he does get an opportunity to hit the floor for the Nuggets, Watson is looking forward to one day facing one of his idols.
"Most definitely KD [Kevin Durant]," Watson said on draft night. "That's my childhood idol growing up, and I can't wait to match up with him."
Watson being selected at No. 30 overall means he is now the 42nd UCLA player to be picked in the first round of the NBA draft. He is also the first Bruins player to hear his name called in the first 30 picks since Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf were selected with picks No. 2 and No. 18, respectively, in the 2017 draft.
In addition to Watson being selected in the first round, star guard Johnny Juzang signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz after not being selected with one of the 58 picks in the draft's two rounds.
