Lindy Waters III Signs with Beijing Ducks After NBA Journey
Lindy Waters III is leaving the NBA the way he entered it: quietly, on his own path, and with the odds stacked against him.
The former San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors wing has signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association, taking his career overseas after five seasons in the league. The move was first reported by Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints and comes after the Spurs chose not to bring him back this offseason.
For Waters, it’s a reset. For Beijing, it’s a calculated bet on a proven role player.
From Undrafted to a Five-Year Grind
Waters’ journey never followed the clean, lottery-pick script.
After four seasons at Oklahoma State, he went undrafted in 2020. No guaranteed contract. No first-round spotlight. He started out with the Enid Outlaws of The Basketball League, a far cry from NBA arenas, then fought his way into the Oklahoma City Thunder organization.
Oklahoma City gave him his first real shot. Across three seasons, he bounced between the Thunder and the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League, carving out minutes as a floor-spacer and energy wing. In 104 games with the Thunder, he averaged 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds, the kind of numbers that don’t lead highlight shows but keep you on scouting reports.
The Warriors took a look next. They signed him in the summer of 2024, and he appeared in 38 games, starting nine. In a system that demands quick decisions and constant movement, Waters held his own, putting up 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He didn’t transform their rotation, but he showed he could survive in one of the league’s most demanding offensive schemes.
Then came the business side.
Midway through the 2024-25 season, Waters landed in Detroit as part of the five-team Jimmy Butler trade. His role shrank. In 14 games with the Pistons, he averaged 3.4 points and 1.0 rebounds, another stop in a career built on short windows and limited chances.
San Antonio offered the next one.
A Small Role on a Big Stage
The Spurs signed Waters last summer, and he slid into a deep rotation on a team suddenly racing up the Western Conference ladder behind Victor Wembanyama. Waters suited up for 40 games, almost exclusively off the bench, averaging 2.4 points in 7.1 minutes per night.
The numbers were modest. The stage was not.
San Antonio surged all the way to the 2026 NBA Finals, and Waters saw spot duty in nine postseason games, averaging 1.7 points in 3.8 minutes. He was never going to headline that run, but he was there, in the locker room, on the bench, in the huddles, part of a group that came within touching distance of a title.
This summer, the Spurs made their priorities clear. Waters was not among them.
Beijing’s Push and Waters’ Next Chapter
Beijing offers something different: opportunity, responsibility, and a prominent role in a league that has become a serious landing spot for former NBA talent.
The Ducks finished fourth in the CBA last season with a 29-13 record and reached the semifinals before bowing out to eventual champions Shanghai Sharks. They’re close. They know it. And they’re adding Waters to a group that already includes former NBA forward JaKarr Sampson.
In China, Waters won’t be the 10th or 11th man, waiting to see if his number gets called. He’ll be expected to score, to space the floor, to lead. For a player who has spent most of his NBA life fighting for slivers of playing time, that kind of responsibility can be career-defining.
Spurs Stay the Course
While Waters heads to Beijing, San Antonio is doubling down on its core.
Fresh off their Finals defeat, the Spurs resisted the urge to tear anything up. Their headline move was locking in Wembanyama on a five-year, $252 million extension, the kind of franchise-shaping commitment that sets the tone for the next half-decade.
They also kept key rotation pieces in place, handing new deals to Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie and Jordan McLaughlin. Stability, not shock, drove their offseason.
They did address a clear need at power forward. Tobias Harris arrived on a two-year deal and is expected to push Champagnie hard for the starting spot. The front office identified that position as a priority and moved quickly to shore it up.
The draft added more young size and depth: Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr. in the first round, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Maliq Brown in the second. All of it points in one direction—building around Wembanyama, layering in versatility, and preparing for another deep run.
That kind of depth has a cost. For players like Waters, it often means looking elsewhere.
Now he heads to Beijing, with an NBA Finals run behind him and a new league in front of him, trying to turn a career of cameos into a starring role.
