diff --git a/src/main/java/io/cryostat/discovery/KubeApiDiscovery.java b/src/main/java/io/cryostat/discovery/KubeApiDiscovery.java
index 635c353ce..ae1671467 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/cryostat/discovery/KubeApiDiscovery.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/cryostat/discovery/KubeApiDiscovery.java
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ static final class KubeConfig {
         @Inject FileSystem fs;
 
         @ConfigProperty(name = "cryostat.discovery.k8s.namespaces")
-        Optional<List<String>> watchNamespaces;
+        List<String> watchNamespaces;
 
         @ConfigProperty(name = "kubernetes.service.host")
         Optional<String> serviceHost;
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ static final class KubeConfig {
         private KubernetesClient kubeClient;
 
         Collection<String> getWatchNamespaces() {
-            return watchNamespaces.orElse(List.of(OWN_NAMESPACE)).stream()
+            return watchNamespaces.stream()
                     .map(
                             n -> {
                                 if (OWN_NAMESPACE.equals(n)) {