James Bernett “Bunny” Chones (born November 30, 1949) 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, and current radio analyst for 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 Central ...

. A 6'11" forward/

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 ...

, Chones starred at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of ...

, where he earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors as a junior in 1972 after averaging 20.5 points and 11.9

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game.Chones stats – Basketball Reference.com
/ref> When he left Marquette to pursue an ABA career, he was only the second player in NCAA history to leave school for professional basketball before his graduating year. The New York Nets offered him a sizeable contract, and stipulated that he must accept within days and leave college. As a result, he left Marquette in February 1972 with his college team undefeated and ranked second in the nation. After Chones' departure Marquette finished the season at 25–4. Professionally, he first played 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 American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

(ABA) with the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, with whom he was an ABA All-Rookie First Team selection. He also spent a season with the

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 ...

. In 1975, he moved to the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

, where he played five seasons with the

, and later 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 a ...

as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980. He retired from basketball in 1982 with combined ABA/NBA totals of 9,821 points and 6,427

. After retiring from the NBA, Chones spent eleven seasons as the television color analyst for the

, and in 2007, returned as a radio postgame analyst. During the 2010–2011 season, usual Cavs radio voice

Joe Tait Joseph Tait (May 15, 1937 – March 10, 2021) was an American sports broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer on radio for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and both TV and radio for the Cleveland India ...

missed much of the season as he recovered from surgery/illness. During that time, Chones and

WTAM WTAM (1100 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and carries a news/ talk/sports format commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Oh ...

morning co-host/sports director and Cavs pregame/postgame host Mike Snyder formed the interim radio play by play team. Chones became a full-time member of the radio team in the 2011–2012 season, working with new play by play announcer John Michael. Chones's daughter Kaayla is a former professional basketball player and as of 2019 is the director of player program for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

of the NBA.

Awards and honors

College

*1972 First Team All-AmericanJim Chones.com
/ref> *Marquette Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2004)

Professional

*1973 ABA All-Rookie First Team *1980

as a member of 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 ...

*Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2002)Greater Cleveland Sports HOF – Cleveland Sports Hall.com
/ref>

References

External links

* ttp://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=jim_chones Jim Chones statistics at NBA.COMbr>Racine Native Chones to Fill in as Bucks Analyst
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chones, Jim 1949 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1971 Pan American Games Basketball players from Wisconsin Carolina Cougars players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers announcers Cleveland Cavaliers players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players New York Nets draft picks New York Nets players Pan American Games competitors for the United States Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Racine, Wisconsin Sportspeople from the Milwaukee metropolitan area Washington Bullets players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople