Former Gonzaga University bigs Drew Timme and Anton Watson are practicing with LeBron James and playing alongside former West Coast Conference rival Augustus Marčiulionis. 

Yes, you read that correctly. At the current stage of their professional basketball journeys, the former college roommates at GU have reunited in the frontcourt of the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League, have shared a practice court with James while the NBA legend is recovering from a sciatica injury and are teammates with standout Saint Mary’s point guard Marčiulionis.

Both Timme and Watson have enjoyed stints in the top flight — most notably Timme’s nine-game run with the Brooklyn Nets last season, in which he put up three double-doubles — but both now find themselves starting the new 2025-26 season suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers’ G League affiliate.

South Bay is 2-0 in two games against the Valley Suns to begin the young season, with the GU alums starting in both and putting up double-digit efforts in each. Timme in particular has been putting on a show for South Bay, earning G League Player of the Week honors with a 34-point, 11-rebound double-double in a blowout Lakers opening-night win (144-105) before adding 29 more in their rematch the next day (123-113).

Watson has been no slouch either, averaging 12.0 points and 5.0 boards per game and combining well with his college roommate for multiple “all Zags” buckets in their opening two games.

Both players made their NBA debuts last season — Timme for the Nets, and Watson for the New York Knicks — but started the season waived by the Lakers to their G League roster. But just two games into the G League’s Tip-Off Tournament, Timme is showing why he’s likely to be called to the NBA at some point in 2025-26.

After four years in Spokane, GU’s all-time leading scorer went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and spent his first professional season playing a sizable role for the Milwaukee Bucks G League affiliate, but missed the last few months of the season with a foot fracture. 

The following year, Timme spent time on Sacramento and Brooklyn’s G League affiliates, but he really made his mark with the Long Island Nets. After being traded to Brooklyn in December 2024, Timme exploded with Long Island, averaging 23.9 points, 10.2 boards and 4.1 assists while shooting 38.5% from deep across 29 games and prompting his parent club to offer him a multi-year NBA contract. 

In his first NBA game, Timme put up a double-double, a feat he would repeat twice more in the final eight games of the season, while putting up double-digit points in seven of nine games for Brooklyn. In the offseason, the former Zag was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team and starred for the Nets during summer league, but he was still one of the franchise’s final cuts before the new season.

Now with the Lakers, Timme is thriving as a stretch four under head coach Zach Guthrie. Neither Watson nor Timme function as the post in a tall South Bay lineup with former Oregon State seven-footer Kylor Kelly holding that spot, so Timme’s role in South Bay has required more shooting and a bit of playmaking.

“It’s been a process. I’ve been working on it for like the past five years,” Timme said about his 3-point shot after his debut with the Lakers. “I’ve changed my shot twice, made some tweaks to it, and I’ve got to a spot where I feel really good about it.”

Guthrie has also trusted Timme to act as a primary ball handler in certain sets, bringing the ball up the court as a point guard.

Unlike Timme, Watson was drafted after four years at GU, going 54th to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 draft and spent much of his rookie season playing for the Maine Celtics on a two-way deal with Boston. 

But like Timme, Watson was cut despite a decent G League showing (12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 37 appearances for Maine) and ended up signing for Knicks for the remainder of his rookie season, making his NBA debut in the process.

The Gonzaga Prep alum and former Mr. Basketball for Washington was picked up by the Lakers in September after being on a training camp squad alongside Timme, Marčiulionis and many of their current South Bay teammates.

Ironically, as recently as July 15, the forwards lined up across from each other during a summer league game between Timme’s Nets and Watson’s Knicks.

“It’s always fun playing against my best friend,” Timme said, while humoring the idea of moving back in with Watson. “That’s a good idea, I might have to run that by him.”

Of course, Timme said that when the pair were still signed to teams in New York. Now, the friends are back on the West Coast and playing for the same team, but neither has commented on their current living situation in South Bay.

As the former Zags navigate the next steps of their careers, an opportunity with a prominent G League side could provide enough exposure to warrant further attention from NBA franchises.