Jones attended and graduated from North Carolina Central University, where he was a four-year letterwinner for Hall of Fame coach John McLendon and coach Floyd Brown. Jones scored 1,745 points, which is still second in school history. He was a three-time All-CIAA league selection. His jersey, no. 41, is retired and hangs in the Eagles' arena.
NBA career
Jones was 6-foot-4 and weighed 200 lb. Boston Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach 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. Eventually, in the 1957 NBA draft, the Philadelphia Warriors selected North Carolina's Lennie Rosenbluth with the sixth pick. Boston selected Jones two picks later, even though Auerbach had never seen Jones play. Jones was originally claimed by the Minneapolis Lakers, but he returned to college to earn his degree upon completion of military service, and therefore voided NBA rules. In his 11th career game, Jones recorded 15 points and 5 rebounds in a 109-118 loss to the Syracuse Nationals. He owns Boston's fourth-best single-game scoring output. Jones recorded 22 points and 5 rebounds in Game 7 of the 1966 NBA Finals as they won their eighth straight NBA Finals.
Player Profile
Jones played all of his 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association NBA with the Celtics. He was known as a clutch scorer, with more than 15,000 points in his career. He participated in five All-Star Games, and is usually recognized as one of the bestshooting guards of his generation. Jones was named to the All-NBA Second Team three straight years and he played on 10 championship teams — 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 shooting the bank shot, in which the shooter bounces the ball off the backboard en route to the basket. 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. At 6-foot-4, Jones was the prototype of the tall guard who could run the floor, 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. He led Boston in scoring in the 1962–63 NBA season, 1964–65 NBA season and 1965–66 NBA season. He produced four consecutive seasons averaging 20 points or better. He scored 2,909 points in 154 playoff games, 26th best in history.
Honors
In 1962, Jones was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame. 1969, Jones 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 in 1984. In 1970 he was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team, and in 1996, he was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
Personal life
After retiring from basketball, Jones coached at Federal City College from 1969–73 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. Jones became a substitute teacher for a time in Montgomery County, MD where he had a tremendous impact on many students. Jones is retired and resides in St. Augustine, Florida. In 2013, he gave an inspirational talk to players for North Carolina Central after the Eagles played a game in Florida.
