Ron Watts
 Ronald Watts, circa 1965 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1943 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | November 2, 2022 (aged 79) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Woodrow Wilson (Washington, D.C.) |
| College | Wake Forest (1962–1965) |
| NBA draft | 1965: 2nd round, 13th overall pick |
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
| Playing career | 1965–1967 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 12 |
| Career history | |
| 1965–1967 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Ronald Michael Watts (May 21, 1943 – November 2, 2022) was an American professional basketball player.
A 6'6" forward from Wake Forest University, Watts played in the NBA for two seasons (1965–67) as a member of the Boston Celtics.
After his career with the Celtics, he was featured in a series of Clio-award winning commercials for AT&T with his good friend Bill Russell. The commercials showed Watts and Russell cracking jokes at each other's expense, and helped to launch AT&T's long distance telephone service. Ron Watts found fame with this commercial and its success was parlayed into the WATS line, standing for "Wide Area Telecommunications Service", which was AT&T's corporate offering for businesses. When AT&T was the largest company in the world, the revenue from the WATS line alone would have made it the 8th largest corporation in the world. However, this was before celebrities were highly compensated for endorsement deals and Watts received no profit share.
Watts died on November 2, 2022, at the age of 79.[1]
Career statistics[edit]
| 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 |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
NBA[edit]
Source[2]
Regular season[edit]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–66† | Boston | 1 | 3.0 | .500 | – | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| 1966–67 | Boston | 27 | 3.3 | .250 | .696 | 1.4 | .0 | 1.4 |
| Career | 28 | 3.3 | .261 | .696 | 1.4 | .1 | 1.4 | |
Playoffs[edit]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Boston | 1 | 5.0 | .167 | .500 | 2.0 | .0 | 3.0 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Ronny Watts". Legacy. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Ron Watts NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- College stats
 | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1943 births
- 2022 deaths
- Basketball players from Washington, D.C.
- Boston Celtics draft picks
- Boston Celtics players
- Forwards (basketball)
- Seattle SuperSonics expansion draft picks
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players
- American men's basketball players
- American basketball biography, 1940s birth stubs