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Slick Watts (1951-2025)
Slick Watts, the baldheaded point guard known for his colorful headbands as a player and his role as an ambassador of Seattle basketball following the conclusion of his NBA career, died Saturday morning at the age of 73. Watts was a generational figure in the Seattle hoops scene, first as a starter for the SuperSonics in the mid-1970s as a young guard from Mississippi and then becoming one of the faces of the basketball scene in the region once his career ended. Watts had been dealing with health issues for several years following a major stroke suffered in 2021. Watts needed nearly constant assistance following the stroke, often from his son Donald, a former star at Lake Washington High School and UW.
Nate Robinson has received 'thousands' of offers for kidney donations
On April 10, the Daily Mail published an interview describing the severity of his situation, in which Robinson said he didn't know how long he'd ultimately live if he didn't receive a new kidney. Tank Johnson again reached out, and this time Robinson gave his blessing. So Johnson helped narrate a video that aired on the jumbotron during the University of Washington's spring football game in Seattle on May 3. In that video, viewers were directed to a university site where they could fill out a form to see if they were the right match for a kidney donation. A few days later, on May 6, the school tweeted out the same information. Soon after, on May 18, Crawford tweeted Johnson's video call to action, saying, "We need everyone with this one." On the same day, Robinson shared the video to his Instagram. Then, as hundreds of thousands of people wanting transplants do, he waited for a response. About a week later, it arrived. Robinson was driving through Seattle when he received word from a friend who had been in touch with UW. The school had been inundated with offers from people willing to donate their kidneys. "Thousands," Nate Robinson said.
IN THE FALL of 2005, Robinson stood in a doctor's office at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Midtown Manhattan. He was 21, a rookie for the New York Knicks, recently drafted 21st overall out of the University of Washington. He was there for a routine physical. The Knicks' team doctor was a woman named Lisa Callahan. Standing 5-foot-2, most players she evaluated needed to sit down to look her in the eye, but Robinson, 5-foot-9, barely had to sit at all. She quickly took a liking to the Seattle native, known as a jokester. During the initial physical, Callahan noticed Robinson's blood pressure was higher than normal -- nothing too troubling, she told him, but something they should keep an eye on. High blood pressure, she knew, was common among the Black population. Robinson otherwise passed and proceeded to begin his NBA career. Later that season, in the spring of 2006, Robinson woke one morning feeling as nauseated as he'd ever been. He had no idea why. Throughout his life, he'd been healthy. He'd never missed a day of school. He'd never missed a practice. But, on that day, he felt sicker than at any point in his life. He worried he wouldn't make it to Knicks practice. "Stop playing, bro," a teammate told him. "You're a rookie. You can't be late." "I'm sick," Robinson said. "I'm not lying."
Mike Hopkins to become an assistant for Phoenix
Former University of Washington coach Mike Hopkins -- a two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year -- has agreed to a deal to become an assistant for the Phoenix Suns, sources told ESPN. After seven seasons with the Huskies and 30-plus overall in college basketball, Hopkins joins Mike Budenholzer's new coaching staff, which will include David Fizdale and Chad Forcier, sources said. Hopkins, 54, had a 122-110 (.526) record with Washington, including a 2019 conference title and NCAA tournament bid.
Thomas felt such an intense connection to Romar and the University during his time there that his end goal now is to someday follow in his former coach’s footsteps. “That’s the ultimate goal,” Thomas told me over the phone. “At some point, I want to be the head coach at the University of Washington. Within the next five to ten years, that would be ideal. I want to try to take the program to the heights that Coach Romar took it to.”
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Thomas felt such an intense connection to Lorenzo Romar and the University during his time there that his end goal now is to someday follow in his former coach’s footsteps. “That’s the ultimate goal,” Thomas told me over the phone. “At some point, I want to be the head coach at the University of Washington. Within the next five to ten years, that would be ideal. I want to try to take the program to the heights that Coach Romar took it to.”
The loudest ovation heard across Seattle over the weekend was directed at Jaylen Nowell, a native son who is everything his basketball-starved hometown could want him to be. Honored before Saturday's University of Washington-Oregon State game at Alaska Airlines Arena, Nowell stepped onto the court, accepted his No. 5 jersey neatly tucked inside a picture frame, held it high overhead for everyone to see and took another bow four years after leaving for the NBA.
Nowell was back in the city because it's NBA All-Star weekend and it was his idea to call up the UW and ask if he could attend Saturday's game. In return, the school took it one step further and chose to give him a long overdue moment in front of the fans as well as tickets.
Every day, at a Safeway near the University of Washington, former Washington NBA star Joe Pace sits outside, often striking up a conversation with strangers. "It makes me feel like I’m still alive, you know? I might be retired but not expired. It makes me feel good because I’m missing being in a crowd, playing basketball, you know, like 50,000 people-- that’s a lot of energy and once you got the ball, their eyes just on you," Pace said. Pace had a rough upbringing, dealing with numerous traumas and tragedies as a kid, but something kept him going. "It’s a sad story, what I went through, but basketball kept me stable. I didn’t have no friends, no girlfriend. I wanted to learn how to play basketball," he said.
This offseason, Porter has done his best to stay off social media, which he realizes isn’t good for his mental health. Instead, he’s bounced from city to city with his chef, strength coach and trainer, working diligently in preparation for the upcoming season. Last week he was in Seattle working out at University of Washington with Isaiah Thomas. He’s already spent time in Phoenix, Dallas, Los Angeles and Missouri training for the upcoming season. One of his offseason stops included a week-long workout with Steph Curry in the Bay Area. Porter, to steal his phrase, remains in “grindmode.”
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Former Huskies star Jaden McDaniels pairs with his brother Jalen on The Sonics team that also includes UW newcomers PJ Fuller and Langston Wilson. A trio of former Huskies — Dejounte Murray, Marquese Chriss and David Crisp — lead a Real Ballers team along with former WSU star Robert Franks. Chicago Bulls star Zach Lavine leads the PNW Rain squad while former UW standout Tony Wroten Jr. headlines a Ball is Life team.
Isaiah Stewart, a throwback 6-foot-9 power forward/center out of upstate Rochester, isn’t the type who aspires to drive a fancy sports car. But his University of Washington head coach, Mike Hopkins, thinks Stewart is already a Ferrari — comparing his ferocious play to the Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell. “He’s got a motor like a Ferrari,’’ Hopkins told The Post. “It’s the relentlessness. He just plays so hard. He reminds me of a bigger version of Montrezl and a little Bam Adebayo. Probably not as skilled as Bam because he could handle it, but the same motor. It’s a relentlessness you can’t teach. It’s a mindset.’’ According to sources, the broad-shouldered 250-pounder has emerged as a strong candidate for the Knicks at No. 27 in the Nov. 18 draft, partly because the 19-year-old is likely to be there.
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