Walter Jones (born February 14, 1942) 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. He was a 6'2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg)

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

Early life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Jones played at Overbrook High School, the same school that had produced

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

a few years earlier. He played college ball for coach

Jack Kraft John Jack Kraft (February 10, 1921 – August 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach who coached Villanova for 12 years, from 1961 through 1973. He compiled a 238–95 record (.715). Kraft led Villanova to the NCAA Tournament six times, ...

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

where he would earn Philadelphia's BIG-5 Player of the Year honors 2x in a row for 1963 and 1964 and become a 3rd-Team All-American as a senior.

Professional career

In his first NBA season, Jones played for the Baltimore Bullets and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

. The next season, 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 Ea ...

where he would play for the next six years. Jones and

Hal Greer Harold Everett Greer (June 26, 1936 – April 14, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1958 through 1973. A guard, Greer ...

were the starting guards on the title-winning 1966–67 76ers team that also featured Chamberlain,

Chet Walker Chester Walker (born February 22, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Bethlehem, Mississippi, Walker played high school basketball for the Benton Harbor High School boys basketball team. He graduated from Bradley ...

Lucious Jackson Lucious Brown Jackson (October 31, 1941 – October 12, 2022), also known as Luke Jackson, was an American professional basketball player. A power forward and center, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association ...

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 ...

and included fellow Villanova alum -

Bill Melchionni William P. Melchionni (born October 19, 1944) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) player. A three time All-Star, Melchionni is one of only four players to win NBA and ABA championsh ...

. Jones made the 76ers' starting lineup after

Larry Costello Lawrence Ronald Costello (July 2, 1931 – December 13, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors, the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA and the Wilkes-Barre Barons. ...

tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ...

on January 6, 1967. During the

1967 NBA Finals The 1967 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1966–67 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and was the conclusion of the 1967 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Confere ...

, Jones played a key role. In Game 1 of the series, Jones scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and recorded 8 assists during a 141-135 win. During the 1968 playoffs, before the start of the Eastern Division finals series against the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, news broke of the

assassination of Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died a ...

. Several 76ers, including Jones and Chamberlain, were vocally opposed to playing the game; however, they were outvoted by the rest of the team. Later, Jones played for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

and

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 196 ...

. In Milwaukee, Jones became involved in a contract dispute which saw him suspended, placed on waivers, and ultimately released. The Bucks alleged that Jones was involved in cocaine usage, even hiring private detectives to investigate, while Jones staunchly denied the accusations. Ultimately, Jones reached a contract settlement with the Bucks and was released. Jones then joined the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving t ...

before retiring after a final stint with the Sixers in 1976. Jones' son Askia40 Nuggets for 40-Team NIT
by Mike Douchant, ''College Sporting News'', published March 11, 2002 is the third-leading scorer in

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

basketball history and played briefly in the NBA himself, with 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 ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1964–65 , align="left" ,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, 77 , , - , , 16.2 , , .375 , , - , , .728 , , 1.8 , , 2.6 , , - , , - , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 1965–66 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 80* , , - , , 27.5 , , .370 , , - , , .744 , , 2.1 , , 3.4 , , - , , - , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1966–67† , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 81* , , - , , 27.8 , , .431 , , - , , .838 , , 3.3 , , 3.7 , , - , , - , , 13.2 , - , align="left" , 1967–68 , align="left" ,

, 77 , , - , , 26.7 , , .397 , , - , , .787 , , 2.8 , , 3.2 , , - , , - , , 12.8 , - , align="left" , 1968–69 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 28.9 , , .430 , , - , , .809 , , 3.1 , , 3.6 , , - , , - , , 13.2 , - , align="left" , 1969–70 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , - , , 22.3 , , .430 , , - , , .841 , , 2.2 , , 3.5 , , - , , - , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 1970–71 , align="left" ,

, 41 , , - , , 23.5 , , .402 , , - , , .782 , , 1.6 , , 3.1 , , - , , - , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, 48 , , - , , 21.5 , , .407 , , - , , .822 , , 1.6 , , 2.9 , , - , , - , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 1972–73 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , - , , 15.5 , , .407 , , - , , .889 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , - , , - , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 1 , , - , , 19.0 , , .364 , , - , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , - , , 9.8 , , .500 , , - , , .692 , , 0.6 , , 1.9 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 607 , , - , , 23.8 , , .409 , , - , , .800 , , 2.3 , , 3.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 10.1

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1964–65 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , - , , 16.2 , , .460 , , - , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 1.8 , , - , , - , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 1965–66 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , - , , 31.2 , , .325 , , - , , .682 , , 3.0 , , 3.6 , , - , , - , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1966–67† , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 15* , , - , , 31.7 , , .447 , , - , , .776 , , 2.8 , , 4.1 , , - , , - , , 17.5 , - , align="left" , 1967–68 , align="left" ,

, 13 , , - , , 29.8 , , .358 , , - , , .789 , , 2.4 , , 3.0 , , - , , - , , 14.1 , - , align="left" , 1968–69 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , - , , 20.6 , , .267 , , - , , .800 , , 3.2 , , 1.8 , , - , , - , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , 1969–70 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , - , , 32.0 , , .523 , , - , , .786 , , 2.2 , , 4.8 , , - , , - , , 15.8 , - , align="left" , 1970–71 , align="left" ,

, 7 , , - , , 16.4 , , .365 , , - , , .769 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , - , , - , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , - , , 22.2 , , .439 , , - , , .857 , , 2.0 , , 2.2 , , - , , - , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , - , , 2.0 , , .000 , , - , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 70 , , - , , 25.2 , , .406 , , - , , .777 , , 2.4 , , 2.9 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 11.9

ABA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, 71 , , - , , 18.9 , , .405 , , .240 , , .823 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 7.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 71 , , - , , 18.9 , , .405 , , .240 , , .823 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 7.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , - , , 9.2 , , .381 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , - , , 9.2 , , .381 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 4.4

Notes

External links

Wali Jones NBA statistics
''basketballreference.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Wali 1942 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players Milwaukee Bucks players Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Shooting guards Utah Stars players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople