Slick Watts, 1951-2025

*Photo credit: Focus on Sport

Six-year NBA veteran Donald Earl “Slick” Watts passed away Saturday at the age of 73. 

Watts, from Rolling Fork, MS, played one season at Grand View University (Des Moines, IA) before three years at Xavier University of Louisiana, an NAIA school. Upon leaving Xavier, his 1,460 points and 331 assists were program records. 

Signing with the Seattle SuperSonics after going undrafted in 1973, Watts averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 assists as a rookie. By his third season (1975-76), he was averaging 33.9 minutes per game and put up 13.0 points, 8.1 assists, and 3.2 steals per game. In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in assists and steals in the same season. For that season, Watts was named the second ever recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

Watts played 79 games for the Sonics in 1976-77, averaging 13.0 points once again with 8.0 assists and 2.7 steals. In 1977-78, he played 32 games in a Sonic uniform before being dealt to the New Orleans Jazz for a first-round draft pick. He played 61 games in his final NBA season of 1978-79 with the Houston Rockets. 

For his career, the 6’1, 175 pound guard averaged 8.9 points, 6.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in 437 games. 

A member of the Sonics’ 40th anniversary team, Watts was known for his trademark headband, an accessory that he made stylish and came to wear on the basketball court after a football injury at the age 13 made his hair grow in spots. He shaved his head bald as a result and would wear the headband throughout his career.

Post-retirement, Watts served as a Sonics and Seattle Storm ambassador and was a physical education teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Seattle, until 2017. His son, Donald Watts Jr., was a four-year player at the University of Washington from 1995-1999.

RIP, Slick Watts.