Slick Watts

Donald Watts
Personal information
Born (1951-07-22) July 22, 1951
Rolling Fork, Mississippi
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school Henry Weather
(Rolling Fork, Mississippi)
College
NBA draft 1973 / Undrafted
Playing career 1973–1979
Position Guard
Number 13, 14, 00
Career history
1973–1978 Seattle SuperSonics
1978 New Orleans Jazz
1978–1979 Houston Rockets
1980 Anchorage Northern Knights
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Donald Earl "Slick" Watts (born July 22, 1951) is an American former basketball player.[1]

Watts was not selected by any team in the 1973 NBA draft, but his coach at Xavier University of Louisiana was a cousin of Bill Russell, who was the coach and general manager for the Seattle SuperSonics. Russell gave Watts a tryout, and he signed with the SuperSonics as a free agent. After making the roster for the 1973–74 season as a reserve, he played more frequently the following season and became a starter for the 1975–76 season.[2] That season, he led the NBA in total assists, assists per game, total steals, steals per game, and made NBA All-Defense First-Team. He was the first player to lead the league in assists and steals in the same season.[1]

In 1976, Watts also received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his outstanding service to the community.[3]

Watts' career declined after 1976, however,[3] and he retired from the league after six seasons, due to injury. He played 4½ years with the Sonics, half a season with the New Orleans Jazz, and one season with the Houston Rockets.[1]

He picked up the nickname "Slick" because he was one of the first players to shave his head, unusual at the time. He was also known for wearing his headband off-center.

After his playing career, Watts became a physical education teacher at Dearborn Park elementary school and a basketball coach at Franklin High School in the Seattle area and took up tennis.[4] In 2001, Watts spent 22 days in a hospital with sarcoidosis, which caused his weight to drop by almost 50 pounds before his condition improved. He ended his post-basketball career teaching physical education for nearly 20 years at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary in Seattle before retiring in 2017.[5]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
* Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1973–74 Seattle 62–23.0.388–.6452.95.71.90.28.0
1974–75 Seattle 82–25.1.421–.6083.26.12.30.16.8
1975–76 Seattle 82–33.9.427–.5784.58.1*3.2*0.213.0
1976–77 Seattle 79–33.3.422–.5873.98.02.70.313.0
1977–78 Seattle 32–25.3.404–.5662.54.21.70.47.8
1977–78 New Orleans 39–19.9.381–.6022.54.11.40.47.2
1978–79 Houston 61–17.1.405–.6121.74.01.20.23.7
Career 437–26.3.413–.5973.26.12.20.38.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1975 Seattle 9–31.3.462–.5383.77.13.00.411.1
1976 Seattle 6–32.8.435–.4783.08.22.00.311.8
1979 Seattle 2–21.5.400–.6673.53.52.00.57.0
Career 17–30.7.446–.5193.47.12.50.410.9

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Slick Watts". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  2. ↑ "Watts Is Too Slick To Stay On SuperSonics' Bench Long". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. 1976-03-04. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  3. 1 2 Vescey, George (1987-02-08). "Sports Of The Times; The Youngest Old-Timer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  4. ↑ Weaver, Mike (1983-10-28). "Tennis helped 'Slick' Watts slide out of basketball". Tri City Herald. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  5. ↑ Jenks, Jayson (2017-05-17). "Slick Watts at 65: Forever a Sonic, famously accessible". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
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