 Jones playing for theBoston Celtics in 1969 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-06-24)June 24, 1933 |
| Died | December 30, 2021(2021-12-30) (aged 88) Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 198 lb (90 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Laurinburg Institute (Laurinburg, North Carolina) |
| College | North Carolina Central (1951–1954, 1956–1957) |
| NBA draft | 1957: 1st round, 8th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Boston Celtics |
| Playing career | 1957–1969 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 24 |
| Coaching career | 1974–1975 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1957–1969 | Boston Celtics |
Coaching | |
| 1974–1975 | New Orleans Jazz (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 15,411 (17.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,305 (4.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,209 (2.5 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Samuel Jones (June 24, 1933 – December 30, 2021) was an American professionalbasketball player who was ashooting guard for theBoston Celtics in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). A five-timeNBA All-Star, he was nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" and "the Shooter" for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during theNBA playoffs.[1] Jones has thesecond most NBA championships of any player (10), behind only his teammateBill Russell (11). He was also one of only three Celtics (along with teammates Russell andK. C. Jones) to be part of each of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Jones is a member of theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jones was born inLaurinburg, North Carolina, on June 24, 1933.[2][3][4] He attendedLaurinburg Institute.[4][5]
He studied and played college basketball atNorth Carolina Central University (then North Carolina College).[6] There, he was a four-year letterwinner forHall of Fame coachJohn McLendon and coach Floyd Brown. Jones scored 1,745 points and was a three-time All-CIAA league selection. His number 41 was laterretired by the Eagles.[7] He also served in theUnited States Army for two years.[8] He was intending to become a teacher after graduating.[3]
Jones was originally drafted by theMinneapolis Lakers as the eighth pick of the1956 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]
Boston CelticsHall of Fame coachRed Auerbach subsequently took a trip south to scoutNorth Carolina players who had just won the national championship. FormerWake Forest coachBones McKinney told Auerbach he could visitChapel Hill, but the best player in the state was a few miles away.[3] Eventually, thePhiladelphia Warriors selected North Carolina'sLennie Rosenbluth with the sixth pick of the1957 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 onerebound in three minutes played against theSt. Louis Hawks.[11] He was areserve for his first few seasons before replacingBill Sharman as astarter,[3] and earned his first all star appearance in1962.
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 the1966 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 2,209assists and 4,305rebounds.[4] He was the franchise's career scoring leader at the time of his retirement in 1969.[3]
After retiring from basketball, Jones coached atFederal City College (now known asUniversity 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 theNew Orleans Jazz in 1974–75.[14]
Jones was known as a clutch scorer. He participated in fiveAll-Star Games, and is usually recognized as having been one of the bestshooting guards of his generation.[3] Jones was named to the All-NBA Second Team three straight years (1965–67) and he played on10 championship teams (1959–66 and 1968–69) — a total exceeded only by teammateBill 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 thebank shot, in which the shooter bounces the ball off the backboard en route to the basket.[3] Many coaches, includingUCLA's greatJohn 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 withK. 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]
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 theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.[4] He was named to theNBA 25th Anniversary Team (1971), as one of the50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996), and theNBA 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]
Jones was married to Gladys Chavis until her death in 2018. Together, they had five children.[3] From 1989 to 1991, he served as the director of athletics for the DC Public Schools Interhigh League.[23] He lived for several decades inSilver Spring, Maryland, during which time he often served as a substitute teacher in the Montgomery County public school system.[24] He resided inSt. Augustine, Florida, in retirement.[25]
Jones died on the evening of December 30, 2021, inBoca Raton, Florida.[26] He was 88 years old.[3][27]
| 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 anNBA championship |
| 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 | |
| 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] | ||||||||
· Basketball Reference Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
