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Sam Jones (basketball, born 1933)

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Sam Jones
Jones playing for the Boston Celtics in 1969
Personal information
Born(1933-06-24)June 24, 1933
Laurinburg, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedDecember 30, 2021(2021-12-30) (aged 88)
Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High schoolLaurinburg Institute
(Laurinburg, North Carolina)
CollegeNorth Carolina Central (1951–1954, 1956–1957)
NBA draft1957: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career1957–1969
PositionShooting guard
Number24
Coaching career1974–1975
Career history
As player:
1957–1969Boston Celtics
As coach:
1974–1975New Orleans Jazz (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points15,411 (17.7 ppg)
Rebounds4,305 (4.9 rpg)
Assists2,209 (2.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Basketball Hall of Fame
Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

Samuel Jones (June 24, 1933 – December 30, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time NBA All-Star, he was nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" and "the Shooter" for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during the NBA playoffs.[1] Jones has the second most NBA championships of any player (10), behind only his teammate Bill Russell (11). He was also one of only three Celtics (along with teammates Russell and K. C. Jones) to be part of each of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Jones is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early life

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Jones was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, on June 24, 1933.[2][3][4] He attended Laurinburg Institute.[4][5]

College career

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He studied and played college basketball at North Carolina Central University (then North Carolina College).[6] There, he was a four-year letterwinner for Hall of Fame coach John McLendon and coach Floyd Brown. Jones scored 1,745 points and was a three-time All-CIAA league selection. His number 41 was later retired by the Eagles.[7] He also served in the United States Army for two years.[8] He was intending to become a teacher after graduating.[3]

Jones was originally drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers as the eighth pick of the 1956 NBA draft.[4] However, he opted to return to college to earn his degree upon completion of military service, and therefore voided the Lakers' rights to him under NBA rules.[9]

Professional career

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Boston Celtics (1957–1969)

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Boston Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach subsequently took a trip south to scout North Carolina players who had just won the national championship. Former Wake Forest coach Bones McKinney told Auerbach he could visit Chapel Hill, but the best player in the state was a few miles away.[3] Eventually, the Philadelphia Warriors selected North Carolina's Lennie Rosenbluth with the sixth pick of the 1957 NBA draft.[10] Boston selected Jones two picks later, even though Auerbach had never seen Jones play.[3]

Jones made his NBA debut on October 22, 1957,[4] recording one rebound in three minutes played against the St. Louis Hawks.[11] He was a reserve for his first few seasons before replacing Bill Sharman as a starter,[3] and earned his first all star appearance in 1962.

Jones was one of only six Boston Celtics to have ever scored 50 points in an NBA game.[9] At the time of his death in 2021, he owned Boston's sixth-best single-game scoring output (51 points vs. Detroit Pistons on October 29, 1965).[9][12] He also recorded 22 points and 5 rebounds in Game 7 of the 1966 NBA Finals as the Celtics won their eighth straight NBA Finals.[13] Jones ultimately played twelve seasons in the NBA with the Celtics, scoring 15,411 points to go along with 2,209 assists and 4,305 rebounds.[4] He was the franchise's career scoring leader at the time of his retirement in 1969.[3]

Coaching career

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After retiring from basketball, Jones coached at Federal City College (now known as University of the District of Columbia) from 1969 to 1973 and at North Carolina Central University, his alma mater, in 1973–74. He was an assistant coach for the New Orleans Jazz in 1974–75.[14]

Player profile

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Jones was known as a clutch scorer. He participated in five All-Star Games, and is usually recognized as having been one of the best shooting guards of his generation.[3] Jones was named to the All-NBA Second Team three straight years (1965–67) and he played on 10 championship teams (1959–66 and 1968–69) — a total exceeded only by teammate Bill Russell in NBA history.[3][4]

Jones' perfect form when shooting a jump shot, along with his great clutch shooting, led opponents to nickname him "The Shooter." He was particularly adept at shooting the bank shot, in which the shooter bounces the ball off the backboard en route to the basket.[3] Many coaches, including UCLA's great John Wooden, believe that when a shooter is at a 20- to 50-degree angle to the backboard and inside 15 feet, a bank shot is always the preferred shot.[15] At 6-foot-4, Jones was the prototype of the tall guard who could run the floor and bang the boards, and had a rangy offensive game that gave opponents fits. One of the "Jones Boys" in Boston, Sam teamed with K. C. Jones in the Celtics' backcourt to create havoc in NBA arenas around the country.[3][16][17]

Jones led Boston in scoring five times,[7] and he averaged 20 points or better in four consecutive seasons (1965–1968).[4] He scored 2,909 points in 154 playoff games (18.89 PPG),[4] 92nd best in history as of the 2021 postseason.[18]

Honors

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Jones was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962.[19] Seven years later, he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame[8]—the first African-American thus honored.[20] Jones was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.[4] He was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team (1971), as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996), and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021).[20] He was part of the inaugural class inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.[21] In the 2021–2022 NBA season, the Boston Celtics wore a black band with the number 24 on their jersey, to honor Jones who died that year.[22]

Personal life

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Jones was married to Gladys Chavis until her death in 2018. Together, they had five children.[3] He lived for several decades in Silver Spring, Maryland, during which time he often served as a substitute teacher in the Montgomery County public school system.[23] He resided in St. Augustine, Florida, in retirement.[24]

Jones died on the evening of December 30, 2021, in Boca Raton, Florida.[25] He was 88 years old.[3][26]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  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

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1957–58 Boston 56 10.6 .429 .714 2.9 0.7 4.6
1958–59† Boston 71 20.6 .434 .770 6.0 1.4 10.7
1959–60† Boston 74 20.4 .454 .764 5.1 1.7 11.9
1960–61† Boston 78 26.0 .449 .787 5.4 2.8 15.0
1961–62† Boston 78 30.6 .464 .818 5.9 3.0 18.4
1962–63† Boston 76 30.6 .476 .793 5.2 3.2 19.7
1963–64† Boston 76 31.3 .450 .783 4.6 2.7 19.4
1964–65† Boston 80 36.1 .452 .820 5.1 2.8 25.9
1965–66† Boston 67 32.2 .469 .799 5.2 3.2 23.5
1966–67 Boston 72 32.3 .454 .857 4.7 3.0 22.1
1967–68† Boston 73 33.0 .461 .827 4.9 3.0 21.3
1968–69† Boston 70 26.0 .450 .783 3.8 2.6 16.3
Career 871 27.9 .456 .803 4.9 2.5 17.7

Playoffs

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1958 Boston 8 9.4 .455 .688 3.0 0.5 3.9
1959† Boston 11 17.5 .370 .846 5.7 1.5 10.3
1960† Boston 13 15.2 .385 .810 3.2 1.4 8.2
1961† Boston 10 25.8 .446 .886 5.4 2.2 13.1
1962† Boston 14 36.0 .444 .700 7.1 3.1 20.6
1963† Boston 13 34.6 .484 .831 6.2 2.5 23.8
1964† Boston 10 35.6 .506 .735 4.7 2.3 23.2
1965† Boston 12 41.3 .459 .869 4.6 2.5 28.6
1966† Boston 17 35.4 .449 .838 5.1 3.1 24.8
1967 Boston 9 36.2 .459 .862 5.1 3.1 26.7
1968† Boston 19 36.1 .441 .786 3.4 2.6 20.5
1969† Boston 18 28.6 .419 .797 3.2 2.1 16.8
Career 154 30.2 .447 .811 4.7 2.3 18.9
Source:[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sam Jones
  2. ^ Staton, John (December 31, 2021). "Wilmington native and NBA legend Sam Jones, aka 'Mr. Clutch,' dies at 88". Wilmington Star-News.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Goldstein, Richard (December 31, 2021). "Sam Jones, Sharpshooting Celtics Star of the 1960s, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Sam Jones Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Bodanza, Mark (April 13, 2016). Ten Times A Champion (First ed.). Bloomington, IN: iuniverse. p. 1. ISBN 9781491785256.
  6. ^ JONES, SAMUEL "SAM" • 123
  7. ^ a b "Sam Jones, NCCU legend and NBA Hall of Famer, dies at age 88". WTVD. December 31, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Sam Jones 1969". North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Karalis, John (December 31, 2021). "Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones dies at 88". Boston Sports Journal. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  10. ^ "1957 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "October 22, 1957 Boston Celtics at St. Louis Hawks Box Score". Basketball-Reference. October 22, 1957. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  12. ^ "Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons Box Score, October 29, 1965". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  13. ^ "Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 28, 1966". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  14. ^ JONES, SAMUEL "SAM" • 183
  15. ^ Connolly, John (June 22, 2009). "Sam Jones adds to legend". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Walsh, George (March 20, 1961). "Jones and Jones At Court". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  17. ^ Watanabe, Ben (January 1, 2022). "Sam Jones' Straightforward Greatness Made Even Bill Russell Marvel". NESN. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "NBA & ABA Career Playoff Leaders and Records for Points Per Game". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  19. ^ NBA Register: 1986–87 Edition. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. p. 324. ISBN 9780892042272.
  20. ^ a b McGregor, Gilbert (December 31, 2021). "Hall of Famer and Celtics legend Sam Jones dies at age 88". NESN. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  21. ^ Hunter, Branden (September 16, 2019). "Inaugural American Basketball Hall of Fame launches in Detroit". Michigan Chronicle. Detroit. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  22. ^ "Why the Celtics are wearing a black No. 24 band on their jerseys". April 27, 2022.
  23. ^ Merida, Kevin (December 5, 1998). "A WHOLE NOTHER BALLGAME: CELTICS GREAT SAM JONES REFLECTS ON THE NEW NBA". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  24. ^ Burt, Bill (April 8, 2012). "Yes they can!: Ex-Celts great Sam Jones says current Celts can go out champions, too". The Eagle-Tribune. North Andover, Massachusetts. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  25. ^ Feinstein, John (January 1, 2022). "Sam Jones, a core member of the great 1960s Celtics, was a great shooter. And a lot more". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  26. ^ "Celtics Legend Sam Jones Dies At Age 88". December 31, 2021.
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