It’s a parent’s job to worry for nothing, to invent hypothetical situations that will make a teenager’s eyes roll from sheer effort of paranoia. Typical stuff like: What if you caused a serious injury to one of the best NBA players of all time?
As Julio Watson sat in an empty gymnasium with his son, he expressed this fear.
“Look, Peyton, if he gets in the middle or something, or if he shoots, get out of the way,” Julio warned. “The last thing you need to do is hurt KD.”
It was the summer of 2020, and they were waiting for Kevin Durant at the gym in West Los Angeles where they had been told to meet. The Watsons – Peyton, his father and his uncle – were the first to arrive. Attribute this to a combination of eagerness and anticipation of morning traffic. They drove from their home in Long Beach. Peyton was also going to need a ride. He didn’t have his license yet.
Durant showed up with an associate about 10 minutes later and began shooting. Slowly, others began to arrive: Taurean Prince, Caris LeVert, Kyrie Irving.
Peyton Watson was between his high school years and his senior year of high school, but he had been invited to the best pickup game in Los Angeles. Hosted by one of his basketball idols.
“I was stunned,” Watson said. “I couldn’t even sleep the night before. I didn’t even fall asleep. I stayed up all night.
Four years later, the Nuggets wing still considers that day one of the most important of his life. For about two hours, he was the only high schooler in a small group of players running full-court pickup plays, led by the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
“I trained. I was trying to get the guys in the gym every day to practice, to get ready for the season, because I was coming off an Achilles injury,” Durant told the Denver Post. “So we were bringing guys in every day. And I think that day Peyton had arrived, and the guys could have canceled our date that day. So we just played 3-on-3 all over the field. … We didn’t expect anything from anyone. Just play hard and play an honest hoop game. He arrived and fit in perfectly.
That Achilles injury was the one that derailed the 2019 NBA Finals and forced Durant to miss the following season. Watson’s father could imagine the headlines: “High School Player Injures Kevin Durant, Delays Return.” » So he made sure to convey those fears to Peyton, whose competitive instincts have been on display to Nuggets fans throughout this season every time he sacrifices his body to steal after a swattable shot.
“When I got there, I came to play ball and show what I could do. Showcase my talent,” Watson said. “So I went there and I didn’t want to be one of those guys that was just happy to be there. I went out there and challenged people. I scored. I was holding on. »
That’s why he won the invitation in the first place. It started during one of his high school games. Junior year. During a timeout in the first quarter. Watson, a blue-chip recruit at Long Beach Poly, noticed a commotion. “I saw him come in,” he recalled, “and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’” Durant, a hoops connoisseur at every level, was in the building.
He and Kobe Bryant were Watson’s favorite NBA players growing up. His father once got angry with him for misplacing a brand new pair of Durant shoes on a youth basketball trip.
Watson had an exceptional match. His brother Christian too. Durant was impressed by both. He and Peyton developed a line of communication through social media DMs. “I think I followed him, and then he maybe hit me first,” Durant said. “I don’t know. It’s just one of those friendships where you don’t know how it started; it happened organically. He’s been my brother ever since.
After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the NBA, a rehabbing Durant was in Los Angeles training. That’s when his staff contacted Watson with a time and location.
It was common then for Julio or his brother Brantley to drive Peyton to basketball-related events or practices. The three of them went to this one together, not really knowing what to expect. They had never been in an environment like this with professionals. When the race began, Watson’s family members were the only spectators other than the coaches and support staff.
“You’re just practicing, man,” Durant said. “You just take risks with certain things that you want to learn and that you want to get better at. Fades in and out 3 seconds. Stuff you probably didn’t work on during your season. Try working there. It’s time for trial and error.
There were about a dozen games, from the first to seven or eight points. The precise details are now murky, but Watson remembers being on a team with Irving and Christian Wood. The other team included Durant, Prince and Brooklyn Nets G League player Jaylen Hands. There were a few no-shows, giving Watson more reps. “He wouldn’t have played every game, since he was so young, and we’re trying to give seniority to the pros,” Durant said.
Watson and Wood shared the responsibility of defending Durant, who was incapable of missing a shot. Across the room, Irving shared Durant’s philosophy that this was a chance for everyone involved to experiment. For him, that meant trying a variety of spontaneous finishes – foreshadowing his incredible buzzer-beater to defeat the Nuggets this month of March. It also meant distributing wealth. On a handful of possessions, Irving signaled Watson to bring the ball up and create a shot. Irving later became friends with Watson, even though he knew nothing about the 17-year-old.
“Peyton was a big deal in high school and Kyrie had no idea who he was. I thought it was the most refreshing thing ever,” his father said. “You think you’re a big deal, but here’s a guy saying, ‘I have no idea who this guy is.’ »
Watson was proud of how he did. He made shots. He handled the ball well. He caused no injuries, much to his father’s relief.
“It was actually one of the best days we’ve had,” Durant said. “Because it was up and down coming out of rehab, and everyone was trying to find their rhythm during the pandemic. So it was a strange time, but I think we definitely got something out of it. It’s a great environment. It’s one of those things you always want to remember as you get older: those moments in the gym without cameras, without practice jerseys, without referees. It’s just us strapping for fun.
“One of the best experiences of my life,” Watson said. “Not only for my game and my sharpness against the best players in the world, but also for my confidence. They threw me out there and said, ‘You’re one of us.’ You are a pro, just like us. It meant a lot to me.
This opened a door to a bigger world for Watson. The other players present that day remained supportive of him. He was invited to other events, including one with John Wall. He stayed in touch with Durant. “I just wanted to be like, almost in a way, an apprentice to him,” Watson said. “See the things he does, see the things he works on, and most importantly keep that relationship in case I have questions, not only on the field but off the field as well.”
When Watson boldly bet on himself by entering the NBA draft despite averaging just 3.3 points in 13 minutes at UCLA, Durant sent him an encouraging text. “I love it,” Watson remembers Durant saying.
“I like the fact that he’s carving out a path for himself, because in college he didn’t get a lot of minutes. He didn’t play much,” Durant says now. “He was drafted solely because of his talent, his potential and his athleticism. He is someone for whom I really have great respect. I really want to see him succeed.
In the weeks leading up to the 2022 draft, Watson was once again playing pickup with NBA company. This time the group was larger, enough for five against five. There he met a future teammate, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. And he found Irving again, but this time on opposing teams.
“I’ll tell you about Peyton, man,” Irving said, smiling. “I walk into the gym and I’m like, ‘Who is this little kid here towering over me and lifting me near half court, when it’s just a pickup?’ But the crowd next door, it was a small gym, and they started going into it.
Five-on-five has become one-on-one. Irving scored on Watson. Watson returned the favor. “So he came back to me,” Watson said. “He scored again, I went down. I scored.” They were going back and forth in isolation, several possessions in a row. Then Irving finally missed one. The draft prospect didn’t. He made a 3-point basket to win the game for his team.
“I was in a face-off with Kyrie Irving and I won,” Watson said proudly. “I’m one of the only people who can say that.”
And he did it by playing pickup like a competitive provocateur, pressuring Irving all the way down the court. None of them held back. And no one was hurt.
See, dad? Nothing to worry about.
“I admit he marked me a few times,” Irving said. “We were going there. That was kind of the telltale sign that he was going to be a good player in this league for a long time. He had no fear. He didn’t back down. He made me better that day.
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