Former Spurs guard Lindy Waters III has signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2026-27 season.
Lindy Waters III announced that he has signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2026-27 season. His move to China ends a one-year stay with the San Antonio Spurs.
The 29-year-old guard became an unrestricted free agent July 1 after his one-year, minimum-salary contract with San Antonio expired.
Waters appeared in 40 regular-season games for the Spurs and averaged 2.4 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. He played 7.1 minutes per game, the lowest average of his five NBA seasons.
He also appeared in nine playoff games as a reserve. San Antonio beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, Waters' first NBA team, in the Western Conference finals before losing to the New York Knicks in five games in the NBA Finals.
Waters Spent One Season With Spurs
Waters has appeared in 196 regular-season NBA games. Those came with Oklahoma City, Golden State, Detroit, and San Antonio over five seasons. He averaged 4.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.9 minutes.
Before reaching the NBA, Waters played four seasons at Oklahoma State. He started 105 of his 121 college games and averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. He went undrafted in 2020.
This summer, the Spurs added four players in the 2026 NBA Draft. They took Jayden Quaintance at No. 20 and traded up for Tarris Reed Jr. at No. 26, then selected Ja'Kobi Gillespie at No. 42 and Maliq Brown at No. 44.
Waters Began NBA Career With Thunder
Waters signed with the G League's Oklahoma City Blue in October 2021. A two-way contract with the Thunder followed a few months later, and he made his NBA debut in 2022.
Oklahoma City gave him a standard contract the following year. Waters was also part of the Blue's 2024 G League championship team.
The Thunder traded Waters to the Golden State Warriors on draft night in 2024. He played 38 games for Golden State, including nine starts, and averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 17.2 minutes.
On Feb. 6, 2025, the Warriors sent him to the Detroit Pistons in the five-team trade that brought Jimmy Butler to Golden State. Detroit also landed Dennis Schröder in the deal. Waters appeared in 14 games for the Pistons.
Waters is Kiowa and Cherokee. He was a finalist for the NBA's Social Justice Champion Award in 2023-24.
Beijing Ducks Coming Off Semifinal Run
Beijing finished 2025-26 with a 29-13 record. That put the Ducks fourth in the 20-team CBA.
In the quarterfinals, Beijing got past the Guangdong Southern Tigers 2-1. An 88-73 home win on May 12 finished the series.
The Shanghai Sharks eliminated Beijing 3-1 in the best-of-five semifinals. In the clinching game on May 22, Beijing led 51-35 at halftime before losing 99-85. The Ducks shot 5-of-25 from 3-point range.
Shanghai went on to beat the Zhejiang Lions 4-1 in the finals, winning its first title since 2002. A year earlier, Zhejiang had beaten Beijing in the 2025 CBA Finals.
Last season's Ducks roster included JaVale McGee, Zhou Qi, and Eugene German. Xu Limin coaches the team.
Beijing has won three CBA championships, in 2012, 2014, and 2015.
