Robert Clyde Jones (born December 18, 1951) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player who played for the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
in the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
(ABA) and the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA). Nicknamed "the Secretary of Defense", Jones won an
NBA championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
with the 76ers in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, was a four-time
NBA All-Star
The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...
, an eight-time member of the
NBA All-Defensive Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...
, and was the
NBA Sixth Man of the Year
The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substit ...
in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
.
Biography
Bobby Jones was one of the most admired defenders ever to wear an NBA uniform. While most other players depended on the occasional thrown elbow, hip-check, or grab of the uniform to gain an advantage, Jones relied on hustle and determination. It was Jones’ stellar defense along with his other specialties such as leadership, that made him a standout sixth man. Opposing teams could ill afford to relax on defense when Jones came off the bench, and they also had to work a lot harder on offense to get the ball in or even near the basket.
Jones's coaches would marvel that he was so good at things they had trouble getting many other players to do at all, such as blocking shots, moving without the ball, hustling back on defense, tipping passes, diving after loose balls, and giving up an open outside shot so a teammate could hit from inside—all things that rarely show up in a box score.
What that work added up to was a 12-year pro career that featured eight selections to the
NBA All-Defensive First Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...
; the first-ever
NBA Sixth Man Award
The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitu ...
; membership on the ABA All-Rookie Team; four appearances in the
NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...
and one in the ABA All-Star Game; and perhaps most prized, an
NBA Championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
with the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
in 1983. Above all, Jones's value as a player was evidenced by the fact that his teams never missed the playoffs.
"If I was going to ask a youngster to model after someone, I would pick Bobby Jones." Said longtime 76ers teammate
Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...
, "He's a player who's totally selfless, who runs like a deer, jumps like a gazelle, plays with his head and heart each night, and then walks away from the court as if nothing happened."
As for his almost polite approach to the game, Jones believed that anything less would have been downright unacceptable. "If I have to play defense by holding on, that's when I quit," Jones said early in his career. "If I have to use an elbow to get position, then I’m going to have to settle for another position. And if I foul, or if the official makes a mistake, there's no use screaming about it. It won’t change things or make me happier."
On one of the few occasions Jones did address a
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
, it was to point out that the official had called a foul on the wrong player: it was Jones, not a teammate, who was the guilty party. The trusting ref changed his call and assigned the foul to Jones—his fifth of the game.
Larry Brown, Jones's coach with the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
, remarked, "Watching Bobby Jones on the basketball court is like watching an honest man in a liars’ poker game."
As for vices such as drinking, smoking, and cursing, they were out of the question. When a computer-generated ranking sponsored by
Seagram Distillers rated Jones the NBA's "most consistent and productive player" in 1976–77, Jones turned over the $10,000 prize to religious charities. At the award dinner (held
without alcohol at Jones's request) he pronounced from the podium: "I’m definitely against whiskey, and I just felt God gave me this money not to keep, but to use." And while he never asked teammates or coaches to avoid expletives, they frequently found themselves crying out "Oh, shoot!" in his presence.
Nothing seemed to disturb Jones on the court; the final buzzer meant the end of just another day on the job. "He has a rare ability to divorce himself from the games after they end,"
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...
, Jones's coach at
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, told the ''
Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.
The ''Dail ...
'' in 1984. "He is a man at peace with himself. It's what I term internal affirmation—and in Bobby, it's strong."
Jones suffers from
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
, as well as occasional
epileptic seizure
An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...
s, and a chronic heart disorder, each of which require medication. Stricken by a seizure in his kitchen one day, Jones fell onto a
butcher block
A butcher block or butcher's block is a heavy duty chopping block, typically laminated of hardwood.
Traditionally made of hard maple, it was commonly used in butcher shops and meat processing plants but has now become popular in home use.
The ...
and gashed open his head. The incident nearly led him to quit basketball for the clergy. His perseverance earned him Philadelphia's Most Courageous Athlete Award in 1983.
Strangely, Jones was never in love with the sport of basketball. As a kid growing up in North Carolina, he essentially had to play. His father had played on the
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...
national championship runner-up team of 1949, and older brother Kirby was an All-State cager and later a Sooner as well. Since Kirby versus Mr. Jones did not make for many close matches, Bobby was invariably enlisted to join them in their games behind the house. "I didn’t enjoy sports," Jones remembered. "I would rather watch television, but my father wanted me to play."
As a sophomore at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, the 6-foot-6 Jones made the basketball team. His brother Kirby was also on the squad. Bobby actually liked track and field better, because he could practice by himself and on his own terms. Twice he won the state high jump title, finishing second in his junior year to
Bob McAdoo
Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. ( ; born September 25, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Most ...
. As a senior, Jones broke the state record by clearing the bar at a height of 6 feet, 8 inches.
Jones blossomed on the court in his junior year, earning Charlotte's Player of the Year Award and leading South Mecklenburg into the state playoffs. His squad lost to a Greensboro team that starred McAdoo, but South Mecklenburg won the championship a year later. Still, with all of his success as a cager, Jones did not think much about a future in basketball. "It was a seasonal thing," he said, "but the colleges became interested, so I thought it was a way I could go to school free." Jones ended up playing for
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...
at the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
.
Jones had a splendid year as a college sophomore, then doctors discovered that he had an
irregular heartbeat
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
. Their prescription: a few weeks’ rest. (Jones later had to take medication before every game to control the problem.)
At around the same time, tryouts for the
1972 U.S. Olympic Team were about to be held. Jones was not only unaware of the trials, but he also did not know that the Games were being staged in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. When Smith heard that a couple of players had been taken ill at the tryouts, he got on the phone and got Jones a shot. Jones made the team but had little time on the court, playing only 5 minutes in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's infamous win over the United States in the gold medal game.
The
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
's
Carolina Cougars
The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...
selected Jones after his junior season in the 1973 Special Circumstances Draft, but Jones wanted to finish his psychology degree and polish his game, so he returned to North Carolina for his senior year. He turned in an All-America campaign in 1973–74, averaging 16.1 points, and was selected by the
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
with the fifth overall pick in the
1974 NBA draft
The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...
.
Meanwhile, the Cougars franchise was moved to Missouri after the 1973–74 season and became the
Spirits of St. Louis
The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise based in St. Louis that played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter member in 1967 as the ...
. Former Carolina Coach
Larry Brown had moved on to the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
, and he was hell-bent on getting his hands on Jones. After acquiring his rights from St. Louis in exchange for the rights to
Marvin Barnes
Marvin Jerome "Bad News" Barnes (July 27, 1952 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. A forward, he was an All-American at Providence College, and played professionally in both the American Basketball Association ( ...
, the Nuggets outbid Houston for Jones's services, offering him a seven-year, $1.4-million contract.
With Brown at the reins and Jones in the frontcourt, Denver went 65–19 in 1974–75, the best record in the ABA that year and the second-best mark in league history. Jones shot .604 from the floor for an ABA record, scored 14.8 points per game, and won a spot on the ABA All-Rookie Team. In 1975–76, the ABA's final season, Jones averaged 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds and again topped the circuit in field-goal percentage at .581. He also played in the
1976 ABA All-Star Game and was named to the All-ABA Second Team. The Nuggets, with stars
David Thompson and
Dan Issel
Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...
, finished with a league-best 60–24 record.
Jones made a graceful transition to the NBA with the
ABA–NBA merger
The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...
in June 1976, as did the rest of the Nuggets. Denver shocked the more established circuit by winning the Midwest Division that season and the next year as well. Thompson was an offensive machine, and Jones made solid contributions at both ends of the floor. In 1976–77 he averaged a career-high 15.1 points, ranked third in the league with a .570 field-goal percentage, and played in his first
NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...
. He also outpolled all other players in earning the first of eight straight selections to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. The following season Jones averaged 14.5 points, elevated his field-goal percentage to a league-leading .578, and returned to the
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
.
Nuggets management, however, feared Jones would be limited by his health problems. After the 1977–78 campaign he was traded to the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
with
Ralph Simpson
Ralph Derek Simpson (born August 10, 1949) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1970 to 1980.
Career
Simpson, a 6'6" guard ...
for forward
George McGinnis
George F. McGinnis (born August 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana ...
. McGinnis lasted a year and a half in Denver; Jones went on to play eight seasons in Philadelphia.
Primarily a starter during his four seasons with the Nuggets, Jones was forced to make yet another transition after his first year with the Sixers. Coach
Billy Cunningham
William John Cunningham (born June 3, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, who was nicknamed the ''Kangaroo Kid'' for his leaping and record-setting rebounding abilities. He spent a total of 17 seasons with the ...
thought Jones would be best utilized as a sixth man, coming off the bench for frontcourtmen Julius Erving,
Darryl Dawkins
Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he also ...
, and
Caldwell Jones
Caldwell "Pops" Jones (August 4, 1950 – September 21, 2014) was an American professional basketball player.
Jones was drafted out of Albany State College by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA draft. He played three seaso ...
. Cunningham was worried that the change would devastate Jones, but it took Jones about half a minute to agree to the coach's plan.
![Bobby Jones NBA All-Defense](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Bobby_Jones_NBA_All-Defense.JPG)
During his first two seasons coming off the bench, beginning with the 1979–80 campaign, Jones still averaged about 25 minutes and 13 to 14 points, shooting at least .530 from the floor each year. He returned to the NBA All-Star Game in both 1981 and 1982 and was an All-Defensive First Team selection each year. In 1981–82, Bobby Jones briefly returned to the starting lineup for that season, starting 73 games.
With their system working to near perfection, the 76ers went to the Finals twice during the period, losing to the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
in both 1980 and 1982. The arrival of workhorse center
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cent ...
from Houston prior to the 1982–83 campaign proved to be the final piece of the championship puzzle. In the regular season Malone repeated as league MVP, and Jones won the first-ever NBA Sixth Man Award. Philadelphia then romped through the playoffs, eventually sweeping the Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals. In game one of the conference finals, the
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
led by 109–108 with one minute 36 seconds to go. Alton Lister of the Bucks tried to inbound the ball but Jones stole the pass and flipped the ball to
Clint Richardson
Clint Richardson Jr. (born August 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round (36th pick overall) of the 1979 NBA draft. A 6'3" guard from Seattle University, Richar ...
. Richardson scored on a dunk to send the 76ers ahead 110–109. A ''
Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' article on Jones paraphrased the famous
John Havlicek
John Joseph Havlicek ( ; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, winning List of NBA players with most championships, eight NBA championships, four of ...
call by
Johnny Most
John M. Most (June 15, 1923 – January 3, 1993) was an American sports announcer, known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990.
Most's radio call during the final moment ...
stating, "Bobby Jones stole the ball. It was grand larceny. Bobby Jones stole the ball and robbed the
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
of a game, turning an almost-sure upset into a 111-109 overtime victory for the 76ers."
The Sixers began a steady decline after that championship year, finishing second to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
the next three seasons. Jones turned in steady defense and solid numbers during those years, although his playing time and production tailed off gradually. Still, he was as efficient as ever. In his last season, 1985–86, Jones shot .559 from the floor. He retired at age 34, and the Sixers retired his uniform No. 24 shortly afterward.
Jones left the NBA as one of the most admired players of the era, if not of all time. Said a young
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...
while a teammate of Jones's, "If everyone in the world was like Bobby Jones, the world wouldn’t have any problems."
Post-NBA career
In 2003, Jones cofounded a
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
-based religiously affiliated non-profit, 2xsalt, that supports underprivileged youth through sports, along with
Bart Kofoed and former teammate and Hall of Famer
David Thompson.
Bobby Jones has coached several school basketball teams in the Charlotte area including Charlotte Christian, Carmel Christian School, and the South Charlotte Thunder.
During his entire tenure with the Sixers, Jones' jersey always included the letter B with a period before his last name (B. JONES) above his number 24; he still wore it even after former teammate
Caldwell Jones
Caldwell "Pops" Jones (August 4, 1950 – September 21, 2014) was an American professional basketball player.
Jones was drafted out of Albany State College by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA draft. He played three seaso ...
was traded for
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cent ...
in 1982 and Caldwell's brother
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
left after only one season with the Sixers (
1983–84). However, during the 2008 season, as part of the Sixers' 25th anniversary of the 1983 champions, he was given a framed replica jersey that simply states his last name without the letter B, since he was the only Sixer named Jones to play on the 1983 team.
On April 6, 2019, Jones was elected to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
.
On January 28, 2020
Joel Embiid
Joel Hans Embiid ( ; born 16 March 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), who also holds French and American citizenship. After one year of college basket ...
requested and was granted permission by Jones to wear his retired jersey number 24 for the Sixers, in honor of the late
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...
.
See also
*
Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Basketball contests at the 1972 Summer Olympics was the eighth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, Germany from August 27 to September 9. The Soviet Union con ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bobby
1951 births
Living people
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina
Denver Nuggets players
Houston Rockets draft picks
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball
Philadelphia 76ers players
Small forwards
United States men's national basketball team players