Herbert Keyshawn Jones (born October 6, 1998) is 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 for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of 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). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. He earned third-team All-American honors as a senior in 2021, when he was also named the

SEC Player of the Year Southeastern Conference Player of the Year refers to the most outstanding player for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in a given sport for a given season. For lists of individual sport SEC Players of the Year by year: *Southeastern Conference Bas ...

High school career

Jones started playing varsity basketball as a seventh-grader for Sunshine High School in

Newbern, Alabama Newbern is a town in Hale County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1854. The population as of the 2010 U.S. Census was 186, down from 231 in 2000. This was its lowest population since the census reported figures for the community beginni ...

, where his father served as the head coach. He played alongside his older brother, Walter Jr., and helped his team reach the Class 1A state finals in 2015, before the school closed. For his junior season, Jones transferred to

Hale County High School Hale County High School is a public high school in Moundville, Alabama Moundville is a town in Hale and Tuscaloosa counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It was incorporated on December 22, 1908. From its incorporation until the 1970 census, ...

in nearby

Moundville, Alabama Moundville is a town in Hale and Tuscaloosa counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It was incorporated on December 22, 1908. From its incorporation until the 1970 census, it was wholly within Hale County. At the 2010 census the population was 2 ...

, following his father, who was an assistant coach. As a senior, he averaged 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and four assists, earning Class 4A Player of the Year honors. Jones led Hale County to the 4A state championship, its first-ever state title. He committed to playing college basketball for

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

over offers from

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

College career

As a freshman at Alabama, Jones averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He drew a single-season program record 23 charges. In his sophomore season, he averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. On January 29, 2020, during a game against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, Jones suffered a fractured left wrist and underwent surgery three days later. He returned to action on February 12 while wearing a cast on his wrist. In his next game, after three days, Jones recorded six points and 17 rebounds in an 88–82 win over LSU. Late in the game, he made two free throws using only his right hand, due to his injury. As a junior, Jones averaged 7.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and was a

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) All-Defensive Team selection. He declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

before withdrawing and returning to college. At the close of the 2020–21 regular season, Jones was named the

and Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches. As a senior, he averaged 11.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. On April 8, 2021, Jones declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

, forgoing his extra year of college eligibility.

Professional career

Jones was selected in the second round of the

with the 35th pick by the

. On December 28, 2021, Jones scored a career-high 26 points in a 108–104 win against the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. On March 27, 2022, he had a career-high six steals in a 116–108 win over 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 ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 78 , , 69 , , 29.9 , , .476 , , .337 , , .840 , , 3.8 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , 9.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 78 , , 69 , , 29.9 , , .476 , , .337 , , .840 , , 3.8 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , 9.5

Playoffs

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 6 , , 6 , , 37.7 , , .477 , , .417 , , .773 , , 3.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 10.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 6 , , 37.7 , , .477 , , .417 , , .773 , , 3.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 10.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 13 , , 21.2 , , .408 , , .269 , , .500 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left; ",

, 34 , , 29 , , 21.1 , , .422 , , .286 , , .495 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left; ",

, 27 , , 26 , , 26.5 , , .484 , , .071 , , .625 , , 6.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 33 , , 33 , , 27.3 , , .446 , , .351 , , .713 , , 6.6 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 11.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 129 , , 101 , , 23.8 , , .441 , , .288 , , .604 , , 4.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 7.3

Personal life

Jones is the son of Walter Sr. and Verlander Jones. He was born with

hemolytic anemia Hemolytic anemia or haemolytic anaemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs), either in the blood vessels (intravascular hemolysis) or elsewhere in the human body (extravascular). This most commonly ...

. His older brother, Walter Jr., played college basketball for Texas–Rio Grande Valley and

Alabama A&M Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshal ...

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Herbert 1998 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Alabama New Orleans Pelicans draft picks New Orleans Pelicans players People from Greensboro, Alabama People from Northport, Alabama Shooting guards Small forwards