Slick Watts

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

Slick Watts
Personal information
Born (1951-07-22) July 22, 1951
Rolling Fork, Mississippi
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolHenry Weather
(Rolling Fork, Mississippi)
College
NBA draft1973 / Undrafted
Playing career1973–1979
PositionGuard
Number13, 14, 00
Career history
1973–1978Seattle SuperSonics
1978New Orleans Jazz
1978–1979Houston Rockets
1980Anchorage Northern Knights
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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 Houston 2–21.5.400–.6673.53.52.00.57.0
Career 17–30.7.446–.5193.47.12.50.410.9

See also
  • List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game

References
  1. "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. 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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