• One of the leaders of the renaissance of XULA men's basketball during the early 1970s
• Played three seasons at XULA (1970-73) with career totals of 1,460 points of 331 assists — both school records at the time . . . through the 2021-22 season, both figures still rank among the school's top 10
• Played six seasons in the NBA (1973-79), starting with the Seattle SuperSonics as an undrafted free agent
• NBA career statistics: 437 games and per-game averages of 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.2 steals
• One of 16 selected in 2007 to the Seattle SuperSonics 40th-anniversary team
• Received the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for exemplary community service in 1975-76 . . . he was the second recipient of this award
• Also in 1975-76, he was chosen to the NBA All-Defensive team
• In 1975-76 with Seattle, he was the first to lead the NBA in steals and assists in the same season
• According to basketball-reference.com, he ranks seventh on the NBA/ABA career list with 2.20
steals per game and 55th with 6.13
assists per game through the 2021-22 season
• One of his Gold Rush teammates was Bruce Seals, also a 2022 XULA Athletics Hall of Fame inductee
• ESPN in 2004 ranked him among the 16 "
coolest athletes of all time"
• Credited for popularizing the wearing of the headband by basketball players
• Other inductions:
— Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991
—
Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1996
—
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2011
• Born July 22, 1951
• Died March 15, 2025
• Donald "Slick" Watts on
Wikipedia
•
Sports Illustrated article
