Samuel Jones (June 24, 1933 – December 30, 2021) 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 (appro ...
player who was a
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
for 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA). A five-time
NBA All-Star, he was nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" and "the Shooter" for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during the
NBA playoffs
The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...
. Jones has the
second most NBA championships of any player (10), behind only his teammate
Bill Russell (11). He was also one of only three Celtics (along with teammates Russell and
K. C. Jones) to be part of each of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Jones is a member of 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 pre ...
.
Early life
Jones was born in
Laurinburg, North Carolina
Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fayetteville and is home t ...
, on June 24, 1933.
He attended
Laurinburg Institute.
College career
He studied and played college basketball at
North Carolina Central University (then North Carolina College). There, he was a four-year letterwinner for
Hall of Fame coach
John McLendon and coach Floyd Brown. Jones scored 1,745 points and was a three-time All-CIAA league selection. His number 41 was later
retired by the Eagles.
He also served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
for two years.
He was intending to become a teacher after graduating.
Jones was originally drafted by the
Minneapolis Lakers as the eighth pick of the
1956 NBA draft.
However, he opted to return to college to earn his degree upon completion of military service, and therefore voided the Lakers' rights to him under NBA rules.
Professional career
Boston Celtics (1957–1969)
Boston Celtics
Hall of Fame coach
Red Auerbach subsequently took a trip south to scout
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
players who had just won the national championship. Former
Wake Forest coach
Bones McKinney told Auerbach he could visit
Chapel Hill, but the best player in the state was a few miles away.
Eventually, the
Philadelphia Warriors selected North Carolina's
Lennie Rosenbluth with the sixth pick of the
1957 NBA draft. Boston selected Jones two picks later, even though Auerbach had never seen Jones play.
Jones made his NBA debut on October 22, 1957,
recording one
rebound in three minutes played against the
St. Louis Hawks. He was a
reserve for his first few seasons before replacing
Bill Sharman as a
starter,
and earned his first all star appearance in
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
.
Jones was one of only six Boston Celtics to have ever scored 50 points in an NBA game.
At the time of his death in 2021, he owned Boston's sixth-best single-game scoring output (51 points vs.
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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
on October 29, 1965).
He also recorded 22 points and 5 rebounds in Game 7 of the
1966 NBA Finals as the Celtics won their eighth straight NBA Finals. Jones ultimately played twelve seasons in the NBA with the Celtics, scoring 15,411 points to go along with 2,209
assists and 4,305
rebounds.
He was the franchise's career scoring leader at the time of his retirement in 1969.
Coaching career
After retiring from basketball, Jones coached at
Federal City College (now known as
University of the District of Columbia) from 1969 to 1973 and at North Carolina Central University, his alma mater, in 1973–74. He was an assistant coach for the
New Orleans Jazz in 1974–75.
Player profile
Jones was known as a clutch scorer. He participated in five
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases 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 division, bu ...
s, and is usually recognized as having been one of the best
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
s of his generation.
Jones was named to the All-NBA Second Team three straight years (1965–67) and he played on
10 championship teams (1959–66 and 1968–69) — a total exceeded only by teammate
Bill Russell in NBA history.
Jones' perfect form when shooting a jump shot, along with his great clutch shooting, led opponents to nickname him "The Shooter." He was particularly adept at shooting the
bank shot, in which the shooter bounces the ball off the backboard en route to the basket.
Many coaches, including
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
's great
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...
, believe that when a shooter is at a 20- to 50-degree angle to the backboard and inside 15 feet, a bank shot is always the preferred shot. At 6-foot-4, Jones was the prototype of the tall guard who could run the floor and bang the boards, and had a rangy offensive game that gave opponents fits. One of the "Jones Boys" in Boston, Sam teamed with
K. C. Jones in the Celtics' backcourt to create havoc in NBA arenas around the country.
Jones led Boston in scoring five times,
[ and he averaged 20 points or better in four consecutive seasons (1965–1968).] He scored 2,909 points in 154 playoff games (18.89 PPG), 92nd best in history as of the 2021 postseason.
Honors
Jones was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962. Seven years later, he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame[—the first African-American thus honored.] Jones was named 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 pre ...
in 1984. He was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team (1971), as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...
(1996), and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...
(2021).[ He was part of the inaugural class inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
In the 2021–2022 NBA season, the Boston Celtics wore a black band with the number 24 on their jersey, to honor Jones who died that year.
]
Personal life
Jones was married to Gladys Chavis until her death in 2018. Together, they had five children. He lived for several decades in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
, during which time he often served as a substitute teacher in the Montgomery County public school system. He resided in St. Augustine, Florida, in retirement.
Jones died on the evening of December 30, 2021, in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 88 years old.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
See also
* List of NBA single-game playoff scoring leaders
* List of NBA players with most championships
The following is a list of National Basketball Association (NBA) players who won the most championships.
The NBA is a Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major professional basketball league in North America. It ...
*
References
External links
Sam Jones—Hoophall Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sam
1933 births
2021 deaths
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American sportsmen
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from North Carolina
Basketball players from Wilmington, North Carolina
Boston Celtics draft picks
Boston Celtics players
Minneapolis Lakers draft picks
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
NBA All-Stars
NBA players with retired numbers
North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball coaches
North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball players
Shooting guards