He studied and played college basketball at North Carolina Central University (then North Carolina College).[6] 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.[7] He also served in the United States Army for two years.[8] He was intending to become a teacher after graduating.[3]
Jones was originally drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers as the eighth pick of the 1956 NBA draft.[4] 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.[9]
Jones made his NBA debut on October 22, 1957,[4] recording one rebound in three minutes played against the St. Louis Hawks.[11] He was a reserve for his first few seasons before replacing Bill Sharman as a starter,[3] and earned his first all star appearance in 1962.
Jones was one of only six Boston Celtics to have ever scored 50 points in an NBA game.[9] At the time of his death in 2021, he owned Boston's sixth-best single-game scoring output (51 points vs. Detroit Pistons on October 29, 1965).[9][12] 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.[13] 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.[4] He was the franchise's career scoring leader at the time of his retirement in 1969.[3]
Jones was known as a clutch scorer. He participated in five All-Star Games, and is usually recognized as having been one of the best shooting guards of his generation.[3] 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.[3][4]
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.[3] Many coaches, including UCLA's great John Wooden, 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.[15] 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.[3][16][17]
Jones led Boston in scoring five times,[7] and he averaged 20 points or better in four consecutive seasons (1965–1968).[4] He scored 2,909 points in 154 playoff games (18.89 PPG),[4] 92nd best in history as of the 2021 postseason.[18]
Honors
Jones was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962.[19] Seven years later, he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame[8]—the first African-American thus honored.[20] Jones was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.[4] He was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team (1971), as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996), and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021).[20] He was part of the inaugural class inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.[21]
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.[22]
Personal life
Jones was married to Gladys Chavis until her death in 2018. Together, they had five children.[3] He lived for several decades in Silver Spring, Maryland, during which time he often served as a substitute teacher in the Montgomery County public school system.[23] He resided in St. Augustine, Florida, in retirement.[24]
