Sam Jones

Sam Jones (basketball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Sam Jones (basketball)

Position(s) Shooting guard
Jersey #(s) 24
Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight 198 lb (90 kg)
Born June 24, 1933 (1933-06-24) (age 76)
Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
Career information
Year(s) 1957–1969
NBA Draft 1957 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
College North Carolina Central
Professional team(s)
Boston Celtics (1957-69)

Career stats (NBA)
Points 15,411
Rebounds 4,305
Assists 2,209
Career highlights and awards
10× NBA Champion (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
3× All-NBA Second Team Selection (1965, 1966, 1967)
5× NBA All-Star (1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968)
50 Greatest Players in NBA History

Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Samuel Jones (born June 24, 1933, in Wilmington, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player at shooting guard and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was known for his quickness and game-saving shots, especially during the NBA Playoffs, that inspired his famous nickname "Mr. Clutch".

Jones graduated from North Carolina Central University after a spectacular career there. He scored 1,770 points playing for Hall of Fame coach John McLendon. He was a 4-year letter winner and was a 3-time All-Conference team.

Contents [hide]
1 NBA career
2 Honors
3 References
4 External links


[edit] NBA career
Jones spent all of his twelve seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics who drafted him in the first round in 1957. Jones was known as a clutch scorer, and scored over 15,000 points in his career. He participated in five All-Star Games, and is usually recognized as one of the best shooting guards of his generation.

Jones was named to the All-NBA Second Team three straight years (1965–67) and he played on ten championship teams (1959-66 and 1968-69) — a total exceeded only by teammate Bill Russell in NBA history. He was 6-foot-4 (1.93 m) and weighed 200 lb (97 kg).

Jones was originally claimed by the Minneapolis Lakers, but returned to college upon completion of military service, and therefore voided NBA rules.

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 shooting the bank shot, where the shooter bounces the ball off the backboard en route to the basket. Many coaches including UCLA's great John Wooden believe that when a shooter is at a 20 - 50 degree angle to the backboard and inside of 15 feet, a bank shot is always the preferred shot. At 6-foot-4, Jones was the prototype of the tall guard who could run the floor, 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.

He led Boston in scoring in the 1962-63 NBA season (19.7 points per game), 1964-65 NBA season (25.9) and 1965-66 NBA season (23.5). He produced four consecutive seasons averaging 20 points or better (1965–68). He owns Boston's fourth best single-game scoring output (51 points vs. Detroit Pistons on October 29, 1965).[1] He scored 2,909 points in 154 playoff games (18.9 ppg), 15th best in history.

[edit] Honors