“This Year’s Bruce Brown”: NBA Twitter Predicts Kevin Durant’s Teammate to be 2024 Championship Hero Like Ex-Nuggets Star

Ahead of the season opener, fans engage in predictions galore on social media platforms. While it is usual to predict the championship team, MVP player and rookie of the years, fans went a step ahead and made their own category. The category is named after the former Denver Nuggets player, Bruce Brown Jr., who played a major role last season. Moreover, the fans predicted Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant’s teammate as the next Bruce Brown.

The Suns have pulled off an amazing roster in the offseason and raised their odds at the championship. The team pulled in Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic with an already loaded KD and Devin Booker‘s side. But the focus is on a 29-year-old Japanese player, who joined the roster in the offseason.

Kevin Durant’s new teammate gets fans’ attention

The Suns signed Yuta Watanabe in the offseason for a two-year deal worth $5 million. The 29-year-old has had quiet career so far playing across franchises like the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Memphis Grizzlies. However, after his three games in the preseason for the Suns, he turned the fans attention to his side. He scored 10, 9, 10 in his three games coming off the bench, helping the team in the absence of stars.

Importantly, it reminded the fans of Bruce Brown Jr., who played a similar role of the Nuggets last season. While Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordan took care of the primary offense, Brown chipped in with buckets simultaneously. He averaged 12 points with 4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in the 2023 playoff. Importantly, the Indiana Pacers traded the rising star for a two-year deal worth $45 million.

Recognizing the effort, a popular NBA fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, with 1 million followers dropped a prediction. The handle tweeted, “Yuta will be this year’s Bruce Brown. I’ve had a couple.” The tweet came in at the wake of the Suns’ third preseason game. In which Watanabe scored 10 points in 15 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Read More: “He’s Back”: 8 Months After Driving Kevin Durant Out, Ben Simmons’ Smooth Play Has Fans Predicting a “Redemption Season”

The Suns seemed to be in fine touch ahead of the regular season, Thursday night game stands tall as proof.

Suns decimate the Blazers

Without Bradley Beal, the Suns’ Booker, Kevin Durant and Nurkic took total control of the game. Eric Gordan led the team with 20 points and helped to clinch a 111-122 victory.

Meanwhile on the other hand, rookie Scoot Henderson made a promising presence for the team alongside his new teammate Deandre Ayton. Henderson dropped 22 points in his 31-minute game time

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In the absence of Damian Lillard, the Blazers seemed to struggle a bit. However it is too early to write off a team. Let’s find out more in the coming days.