Earl Joseph Watson, Jr. (born June 12, 1979 in Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...

) is an American professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player who last played for the Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 of the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA). Watson is a graduate of Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas. In his senior year of high school he averaged 23.4 points, 8.3 assists and 13.2 rebounds per game.

A 6 ft 1 in, 195 lb point guard

Point guard

Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

, Watson was selected in the second round (39th overall) by the SuperSonics in the 2001 NBA Draft

2001 NBA Draft

The 2001 NBA Draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player drafted with the first overall pick...

. He was a starter in college at UCLA

UCLA Bruins men's basketball

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...

, at one point playing alongside future NBA All-Star Baron Davis

Baron Davis

Baron Walter Louis Davis is an American professional basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Davis was a star at Crossroads School and UCLA....

. They were the first two freshmen to start at UCLA since the 1979 season. A four-year starter, Watson started the most consecutive games in the history of UCLA basketball. In the 2007–08 NBA season, Watson averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 assists with the Sonics.

On February 6, 2008, Watson recorded his first-ever triple-double in a game against the Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...

. Watson logged 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 32 minutes. It was Seattle's first triple-double since Ray Allen

Ray Allen

Walter Ray Allen is an American professional basketball player who is currently playing for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. He has played professionally for the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, and the Boston Celtics; and collegiately for the University of...

 registered one on January 28, 2004, against the Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

.

Watson's father is African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 and his mother is Mexican American

Mexican American

Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...

. Because his maternal grandparents were born in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Watson is eligible to play for the Mexico national basketball team

Mexico national basketball team

The Mexico national basketball team is the side that represents Mexico in men's international basketball competitions. The governing body of the team is the Asociación Deportiva Mexicana de Baloncesto – abbrev...

. Watson's foundation "Emagine" is five years old, impacting the youth of his hometown Kansas City, Kansas.

On July 17, 2009, Watson was waived by the Thunder. He signed with the Indiana Pacers on July 28, 2009.

Regular season

|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Seattle

Seattle SuperSonics

The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...

| 64 || 0 || 15.1 || .453 || .364 || .639 || 1.3 || 2.0 || .9 || .1 || 3.6
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Memphis

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...

| 79 || 2 || 17.3 || .435 || .341 || .721 || 2.1 || 2.8 || 1.1 || .2 || 5.5
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Memphis
| 81 || 14 || 20.6 || .371 || .245 || .652 || 2.2 || 5.0 || 1.1 || .2 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Memphis
| 80 || 14 || 22.6 || .426 || .319 || .659 || 2.1 || 4.5 || 1.0 || .2 || 7.7
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Denver

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

| 46 || 10 || 21.2 || .429 || .395 || .627 || 1.9 || 3.5 || .8 || .2 || 7.5
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Seattle
| 24 || 0 || 25.1 || .432 || .420 || .731 || 3.0 || 5.4 || 1.3 || .1 || 11.5
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Seattle
| 77 || 25 || 27.9 || .383 || .329 || .735 || 2.4 || 5.7 || 1.3 || .3 || 9.4
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Seattle
| 78 || 73 || 29.1 || .454 || .371 || .766 || 2.9 || 6.8 || .9 || .1 || 10.7
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09

2008–09 NBA season

The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....

| 68 || 18 || 26.1 || .384 || .235 || .755 || 2.7 || 5.8 || .7 || .2 || 6.6
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10

2009–10 NBA season

The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....

| align="left" | Indiana

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

| 79 || 52 || 29.4 || .426 || .288 || .710 || 3.0 || 5.1 || 1.3 || .2 || 7.8
|-
| align="left" | 2010–11
| align="left" | Utah

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

| 80 || 13 || 19.6 || .410 || .336 || .671 || 2.3 || 3.5 || .8 || .2 || 4.3
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 756 || 221 || 23.1 || .416 || .331 || .704 || 2.3 || 4.5 || 1.0 || .2 || 7.1

Playoffs

|-
| align="left" | 2003–04

2004 NBA Playoffs

The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...

| align="left" | Memphis

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...

| 4 || 0 || 15.5 || .533 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.3 || 1.8 || 1.2 || .0 || 4.8
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05

2005 NBA Playoffs

The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...

| align="left" | Memphis
| 4 || 0 || 18.5 || .333 || .111 || 1.000 || 2.5 || 3.8 || .8 || .2 || 4.8
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 8 || 0 || 17.0 || .410 || .083 || 1.000 || 2.4 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .1 || 4.8