Slick Watts

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Slick Watts: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you own something he signed — or you know who might — there is a note at the foot of this page.

Shaving his head at 13 after a football injury left his hair growing in patches, Watts turned the look and an off-center headband into one of the NBA's most recognizable styles. Undrafted out of Xavier of Louisiana, he made Seattle as a free agent under Bill Russell and in 1975-76 became the first player ever to lead the league in both assists and steals, then was traded midseason to the New Orleans Jazz in 1978.

After basketball he taught physical education in Seattle elementary schools for nearly 20 years, retiring in 2017, and stayed a fixture at Sonics and Storm games. His sons Tony and Donald played college ball. Watts dealt with sarcoidosis and died in March 2025 at 73.

HOW HE CAME & WENTSeattle traded him to New Orleans in January 1978 in a three-team deal, and eight months later the Jazz sent him to Houston for the first-round pick that became Danny Schayes.

Full name

Donald Earl Watts

New Orleans Jazz tenure

1977–78

Position

Guard

Born

1951, Rolling Fork, Mississippi

Died

2025

Height

6′1″ (185 cm)

Weight

176 lb (80 kg)

College

Xavier, Louisiana

Drafted

undrafted