Samuel Jones (June 24, 1933 – December 30, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (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. 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.
Early life
Jones was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, on June 24, 1933.
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 for two years. He was intending to become a teacher after graduating.
Professional career
Boston Celtics (1957–1969)
Boston Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach subsequently took a trip south to scout North Carolina 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. Boston selected Jones two picks later, even though Auerbach had never seen Jones play. He was a reserve for his first few seasons before replacing Bill Sharman as a starter, 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.
Player profile
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. 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,
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 Jones was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
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, 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
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1957–58
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|56
|10.6
|.429
|.714
|2.9
|0.7
|4.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1958–59†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|71
|20.6
|.434
|.770
|6.0
|1.4
|10.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1959–60†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|74
|20.4
|.454
|.764
|5.1
|1.7
|11.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1960–61†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|78
|26.0
|.449
|.787
|5.4
|2.8
|15.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1961–62†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|78
|30.6
|.464
|.818
|5.9
|3.0
|18.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1962–63†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|76
|30.6
|.476
|.793
|5.2
|3.2
|19.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1963–64†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|76
|31.3
|.450
|.783
|4.6
|2.7
|19.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1964–65†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|80
|36.1
|.452
|.820
|5.1
|2.8
|25.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1965–66†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|67
|32.2
|.469
|.799
|5.2
|3.2
|23.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1966–67
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|72
|32.3
|.454
|.857
|4.7
|3.0
|22.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1967–68†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|73
|33.0
|.461
|.827
|4.9
|3.0
|21.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1968–69†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|70
|26.0
|.450
|.783
|3.8
|2.6
|16.3
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|871
|27.9
|.456
|.803
|4.9
|2.5
|17.7
|}
Playoffs
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1958
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|8
|9.4
|.455
|.688
|3.0
|0.5
|3.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1959†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|11
|17.5
|.370
|.846
|5.7
|1.5
|10.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1960†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|13
|15.2
|.385
|.810
|3.2
|1.4
|8.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1961†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|10
|25.8
|.446
|.886
|5.4
|2.2
|13.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1962†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|14
|36.0
|.444
|.700
|7.1
|3.1
|20.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1963†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|13
|34.6
|.484
|.831
|6.2
|2.5
|23.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1964†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|10
|35.6
|.506
|.735
|4.7
|2.3
|23.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1965†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|12
|41.3
|.459
|.869
|4.6
|2.5
|28.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1966†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|17
|35.4
|.449
|.838
|5.1
|3.1
|24.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1967
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|9
|36.2
|.459
|.862
|5.1
|3.1
|26.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1968†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|19
|36.1
|.441
|.786
|3.4
|2.6
|20.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1969†
| style="text-align:left;" |Boston
|18
|28.6
|.419
|.797
|3.2
|2.1
|16.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|154
|30.2
|.447
|.811
|4.7
|2.3
|18.9
|- class="sortbottom"
|colspan="9" style="text-align:center;" | Source:
|}
See also
- List of NBA single-game playoff scoring leaders
- List of NBA players with most championships
- List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
References
External links
- Sam Jones—Hoophall Biography