Slick Watts

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox basketball biography

Donald Earl "Slick" Watts (July 22, 1951 – March 15, 2025) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).<ref name="br">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Playing with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1976, he became the first player to lead the league in both assists and steals. He remained a favorite of Sonics fans after his basketball career.

Early lifeEdit

Watts was born on July 22, 1951, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. His father was a mechanic and his mother was a teacher.<ref name=traub_03162025/> When Watts was 13, a football injury damaged his scalp, causing his hair to grow in unusual patches. This led him to shave his head.<ref name=obit/>

College careerEdit

Watts attended Grand View Junior College before transferring to Xavier University of Louisiana in 1970, where he played college basketball for three years under coach Bob Hopkins, and alongside future NBA player Bruce Seals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

For the 1971Template:Ndash72 season, Watts and Seals led the Gold Rush to its first NAIA District 30 Men's Basketball championship, defeating Nicholls State 85–83, before losing to Westmont in the 1972 NAIA basketball tournament semi-finals 71–59.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During his final season, Watts led the Gold Rush to their second consecutive NAIA District 30 Championship, defeating Dillard 101–80.<ref name=":0" /> In the 1973 NAIA basketball tournament Watts and his teammates upset Sam Houston State, 67–60, in the second round. At the time, the Bearkats were ranked first in the country in all college division polls and had gone 34 games, over a two-year period, without a loss. Xavier eventually lost in the semi-finals to Maryland-Eastern Shore 87–80.

NBA careerEdit

Watts was not selected in the 1973 NBA draft, though he was chosen by the Memphis Tams in the second round of the 1973 ABA supplemental draft.<ref name=cbs>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, Watts' college coach at Xavier University, Bob Hopkins, was a cousin of NBA legend Bill Russell, who at the time was the coach and general manager for the Seattle SuperSonics.<ref name=obit/> Russell gave Watts a tryout and signed him as a rookie free agent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite coming off the bench, Watts led the Sonics in assists per game (5.7) as a rookie in 1973–74. His playing time increased the next season, as Watts led the franchise to its first playoff berth.<ref name="traub_03162025" /> On February 21, 1975, Watts recorded his first career triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, while adding four steals, in a 110–108 win over the Atlanta Hawks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two days later, Watts recorded a career-high nine steals, while also scoring 13 points and adding 14 assists, during a 114–100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

After signing a three-year, $100,000 contract, Watts became a starter for the 1975–76 season,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and would go on to lead the NBA in total assists, assists per game, total steals, and steals per game, while making the NBA All-Defensive First Team. He was the first player to lead the NBA in assists and steals in the same season.<ref name="br" /><ref name=cbs/> In 1976, Watts' energetic playing style, unique look, and rapport with the fans led Sports Illustrated to call him "the most popular athlete ever to perform in the state of Washington".<ref name= nifty>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He also received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his outstanding service to the community.<ref name="youngest">Template:Cite news</ref> Watts followed with another productive year in the 1976–77 season, averaging 8.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game.<ref name="br"/>

At the start of the 1977–78 season, Watts was re-united with Hopkins, who was hired as the Sonics' new head coach. But Hopkins was fired after a 5–17 start, and new coach Lenny Wilkens made some lineup changes, one of which was to replace Watts with Dennis Johnson. Watts was eventually traded mid-season to the New Orleans Jazz for a first-round draft pick.<ref name=traub_03162025>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Watts did not play again in the NBA after the 1978–79 season. He played Template:Frac years with the Sonics, half a season with the New Orleans Jazz, and one season with the Houston Rockets.<ref name="br"/>

In December 1980, Watts joined the Anchorage Northern Knights of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) with the intent of making it back to the NBA.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He averaged 2.3 points and 2.7 assists in 7 games played.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Watts departed the team without notice in January 1981 which caused the CBA to issue a release titled "Has Anyone Seen Slick Watts" that urged anyone who saw Watts to inform him that he had been waived.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Northern Knights head coach Bill Klucas commented after Watts' departure: "Slick couldn't play a lick."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He gained the nickname "Slick" because he was one of the first players to shave his head, unusual at the time.<ref name= traub_03162025/> In 1974, The News Tribune wrote, "In this day of long hair, Watts is a very unusual person".<ref name= traub_03162025/> He was also known for wearing his headband off-center.<ref name="nba obit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

NBA career statisticsEdit

Template:NBA player statistics legend

Regular seasonEdit

Template:NBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 62 || – || 23.0 || .388 || – || .645 || 2.9 || 5.7 || 1.9 || 0.2 || 8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 82 || – || 25.1 || .421 || – || .608 || 3.2 || 6.1 || 2.3 || 0.1 || 6.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 82 || – || 33.9 || .427 || – || .578 || 4.5 ||style="background:#cfecec;"| 8.1* ||style="background:#cfecec;"| 3.2* || 0.2 || 13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 79 || – || 33.3 || .422 || – || .587 || 3.9 || 8.0 || 2.7 || 0.3 || 13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 32 || – || 25.3 || .404 || – || .566 || 2.5 || 4.2 || 1.7 || 0.4 || 7.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|New Orleans | 39 || – || 19.9 || .381 || – || .602 || 2.5 || 4.1 || 1.4 || 0.4 || 7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Houston | 61 || – || 17.1 || .405 || – || .612 || 1.7 || 4.0 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 3.7 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career<ref name="br"/> | 437 || – || 26.3 || .413 || – || .597 || 3.2 || 6.1 || 2.2 || 0.3 || 8.9 Template:S-end

PlayoffsEdit

Template:NBA player statistics start |- |style="text-align:left;"|1975 |style="text-align:left;"|Seattle |9||–||31.3||.462||–||.538||3.7||7.1||3.0||0.4||11.1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|1976 |style="text-align:left;"|Seattle |6||–||32.8||.435||–||.478||3.0||8.2||2.0||0.3||11.8 |- |style="text-align:left;"|1979 |style="text-align:left;"|Houston |2||–||21.5||.400||–||.667||3.5||3.5||2.0||0.5||7.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career<ref name="br"/> | 17 || – || 30.7 || .446 || – || .519 || 3.4 || 7.1 || 2.5 || 0.4 || 10.9 Template:S-end

Later yearsEdit

File:Seafair King Slick Watts and Miss Seafair Veronica Asence knighting Seattle City Council member Jean Godden, 2012 (54426615093).jpg

Watts as Seafair King, granting a "knighthood" to Seattle City Council member Jean Godden, 2012.

After his playing career, Watts became a physical education teacher at Dearborn Park Elementary School and High Point Elementary School. He coached basketball at Franklin High School in the Seattle area and took up tennis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He ended his post-basketball career teaching physical education for nearly 20 years at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary (formerly named Brighton Elementary) in Seattle before retiring in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite a somewhat short tenure with the SuperSonics, Watts remained a fan favorite.<ref name= nifty /><ref name= traub_03162025/> He was named to the Sonics' 40th anniversary team before they moved to Oklahoma City.<ref name=obit/> The Seattle rap duo Blue Scholars named a song about the SuperSonics after him.<ref name=traub_03162025/> Watts was a staple at Seattle sporting events, attending SuperSonics and Seattle Storm games. "Slick was a champion for the Storm and a beloved member of the Seattle community”, wrote the Storm organization.<ref name=cbs/> The Seattle Times called him "an ambassador of Seattle basketball" and "a generational figure in the Seattle hoops scene".<ref name=obit/>

Personal life and demiseEdit

Watts' sons both played college basketball, Tony at Mississippi State from 1988–92 and Donald at the University of Washington from 1995–99. A grandson, Isaiah, currently plays at Washington State, and a granddaughter, Jadyn, plays at Western Washington.<ref name="traub_03162025" />

Watts dealt with sarcoidosis, an inflammation of the lungs.<ref name=traub_03162025/> In 2001, Watts spent 22 days in a hospital with sarcoidosis, which caused his weight to drop by almost Template:Cvt before his condition improved. In April 2021, three months before his 70th birthday, Watts suffered a major stroke.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He died on March 15, 2025, at the age of 73.<ref name=obit>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>