Dwight Elmo Jones (February 27, 1952 – July 25, 2016) was an American 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. A 6'10" forward/center, he was the leading scorer and rebounder on the
1972 Olympic team that lost the
controversial gold medal game to 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 ...
. Jones was ejected from the gold medal game after an altercation with a Soviet player. Later it was revealed that the Soviets intentionally provoked him as they saw him as the leader of the U.S. team and wanted to get him out.
Jones attended
E.O. Smith Education Center and
Wheatley High School.
[Distinguished HISD Alumni]
," ''Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...
''
After playing college basketball at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
from 1970–73, Jones was selected as the 9th overall pick in
1973 NBA Draft
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...
by the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
. Jones played for ten seasons in the
NBA
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 St ...
from 1973 to 1983 with four teams: Atlanta, 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 ...
, the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
, and 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 ...
. The 6 ft 10 in
power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...
/
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
averaged 8.1 points in 766 career regular season games.
His son, Dwight Jones II, played at
Houston Baptist University
Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University, is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Its Cultural Arts Center hou ...
. A 6-3 guard, Jones II was named the
Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2005-06 and 2006-07 while also being named an
NAIA All-America both seasons.
Jones died on July 25, 2016.
References
External links
*
Career NCAA stats@ thedraftreview.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dwight
1952 births
2016 deaths
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks draft picks
Atlanta Hawks players
Basketball players at the 1971 Pan American Games
Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Houston
Centers (basketball)
Chicago Bulls players
Houston Cougars men's basketball players
Houston Rockets players
Los Angeles Lakers players
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball
Pallacanestro Trieste players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Power forwards (basketball)
United States men's national basketball team players
Pan American Games competitors for the United States
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people