K. C. Jones

K. C. Jones
Jones, circa 1964
Personal information
Born (1932-05-25) May 25, 1932
Taylor, Texas
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school Commerce (San Francisco, California)
College San Francisco (1952–1956)
NBA draft 1956 / Round: 2 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career 1958–1967
Position Point guard
Number 27, 25
Coaching career 1967–1998
Career history
As player:
1958–1967 Boston Celtics
As coach:
1967–1970 Brandeis University
1970–1971 Harvard (assistant)
1971–1972 Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
1972–1973 San Diego Conquistadors
1973–1976 Capital / Washington Bullets
1976–1977 Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
1978–1983 Boston Celtics (assistant)
1983–1988 Boston Celtics
1989–1990 Seattle SuperSonics (assistant)
1990–1992 Seattle SuperSonics
1994–1995 Detroit Pistons (assistant)
1996–1997 Boston Celtics (assistant)
1997–1998 New England Blizzard
Career highlights and awards

As player:

As assistant coach:

As coach:

Career statistics
Points 5,011 (7.4 ppg)
Rebounds 2,399 (3.5 rpg)
Assists 2,908 (4.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the United States United States
Olympic Games
1956 Melbourne Team competition

K. C. Jones (born May 25, 1932) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. He is best known for his association with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), with whom he won eleven of his twelve NBA Championships (eight as a player, one as an assistant coach, and two as a head coach).[1] As a player, he is tied for third for most NBA championships in a career, and is one of three NBA players with an 8-0 record in NBA Finals series.[2] He is the only African-American non-player head coach to win multiple NBA Finals.[3]

Playing career

Jones played college basketball at the University of San Francisco and, along with Bill Russell, led the Dons to two NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. Jones also played with Russell on the United States team which won the gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

After completing college and joining the NBA, Jones considered a career as a NFL player, even trying out for a team. However, he failed to make the cut. During his playing days, he was known as a tenacious defender. Jones spent all of his nine seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, being part of eight championship teams from 1959 to 1966. Jones and Russell, and five others, are the only players in history to win an NCAA Championship, an NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal.[4]

In NBA history, only teammates Bill Russell (11 championships) and Sam Jones (10 championships) have won more championship rings during their playing careers. After Boston lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967 playoffs, Jones ended his playing career.

Hall of Fame legacy

K.C. Jones was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989.

Coaching career

Jones began his coaching career at Brandeis University, serving as the head coach from 1967 to 1970. Jones served as an assistant coach at Harvard University from 1970 to 1971.[5] Jones then reunited with former teammate Bill Sharman as the assistant coach for the 1971–72 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers during the season the team won a record 33 straight games. The following season, Jones became the first coach of the San Diego Conquistadors, an American Basketball Association franchise which would have a very short life. A year later, in 1973 he became head coach of the Capital Bullets (which became the Washington Bullets one year later), coaching them for three seasons and leading them to the NBA Finals in 1975.

In 1983, he took over as head coach of the Boston Celtics, replacing Bill Fitch. Jones guided the Larry Bird-led Celtics to championships in 1984 and 1986. Also in 1986, Jones led the Eastern squad in the 1986 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas at the Reunion Arena, beating the Western squad 139–132. The Celtics won the Atlantic Division in all five of Jones's seasons as head coach and reached the NBA Finals in 4 of his 5 years as coach. In a surprise announcement, he retired after the 1987-88 season and was succeeded by assistant coach, Jimmy Rodgers.[6] He spent one season in the Celtics front office in 1988-89 and then resigned to join the Seattle SuperSonics as an assistant coach and basketball consultant for the 1989-90 season.[7] He served as head coach of the Sonics in 1990-91 and 1991-92.

In 1994, Jones joined the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach for one season. The Pistons head coach at that time, Don Chaney, had previously played for Jones with the Celtics.[8]

In 1996, Jones returned to the Boston Celtics, this time as an assistant coach for one season.[9]

Jones returned to the professional coaching ranks in 1997, guiding the New England Blizzard of the fledgling women's American Basketball League (1996–1998) through its last 1½ seasons of existence. The Blizzard made the playoffs in Year 2, but they were summarily dispatched by the San Jose Lasers.

NBA career Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
† Denotes seasons in which Jones won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1958–59† Boston 49 12.4 .339 .603 2.6 1.4 3.5
1959–60† Boston 74 17.2 .408 .753 2.7 2.6 6.3
1960–61† Boston 78 20.6 .338 .664 3.6 3.2 7.6
1961–62† Boston 80 25.7 .406 .634 3.7 4.3 9.2
1962–63† Boston 79 24.6 .389 .633 3.3 4.0 7.2
1963–64† Boston 80 30.3 .392 .524 4.7 5.1 8.2
1964–65† Boston 78 31.2 .396 .630 4.1 5.6 8.3
1965–66† Boston 80 33.9 .388 .690 3.8 6.3 8.6
1966–67 Boston 78 31.4 .397 .630 3.1 5.0 6.2
Career 676 25.9 .387 .647 3.5 4.3 7.4

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1959† Boston 8 9.4 .250 1.000 1.5 1.3 1.9
1960† Boston 13 17.8 .338 .773 3.5 1.1 5.5
1961† Boston 9 11.4 .300 .500 2.1 1.7 2.8
1962† Boston 14 23.5 .431 .717 4.0 3.9 9.0
1963† Boston 13 19.6 .297 .700 2.8 2.8 4.5
1964† Boston 10 31.2 .347 .520 3.7 6.8 6.3
1965† Boston 12 33.0 .413 .778 3.3 6.2 10.1
1966† Boston 17 31.9 .413 .684 3.1 4.4 7.6
1967 Boston 9 28.2 .320 .611 2.7 5.3 6.6
Career 105 23.8 .367 .691 3.0 3.8 6.4

Life after the NBA

Today, Jones works for the University of Hartford Athletic Office and does the color commentary for the University of Hartford Men's Basketball. Jones is not related to his former Celtics teammate Sam Jones.

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Post season PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Capital 1973–74 824735.5731st in Central734.429 Lost in Conference Semifinals
Washington 1974–75 826022.7321st in Central1789.471 Lost in NBA Finals
Washington 1975–76 824834.5852nd in Central734.429 Lost in Conference Semifinals
Boston 1983–84 826220.7561st in Atlantic23158.652 Won NBA Championship
Boston 1984–85 826319.7681st in Atlantic21138.619 Lost in NBA Finals
Boston 1985–86 826715.8171st in Atlantic18153.833 Won NBA Championship
Boston 1986–87 825923.7201st in Atlantic231310.565 Lost in NBA Finals
Boston 1987–88 825725.6951st in Atlantic1798.529 Lost in Conference Finals
Seattle 1990–91 824141.5005th in Pacific523.400 Lost in First Round
Seattle 1991–92 361818.500(fired)———— —
Career 774522252.6741388157.587

Awards and honors

See also

References

  1. ↑ NBA Legends profile: K.C. Jones
  2. ↑ Berkman, Seth (June 19, 2016), "N.B.A. Finals Legend or Loser? Luck Is Often the Difference", The New York Times
  3. ↑ "Throwback Thursday: K.C. Jones". The Starting Five. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  4. ↑ Basketball's Triple Crown – The Post Game.com
  5. ↑ Former Celtic K.C. Jones to Coach Basketball Here
  6. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/04/sports/k-c-jones-to-retire-as-coach.html
  7. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/16/sports/sports-people-basketball-k-c-jones-leaves-celtics-to-join-sonics.html
  8. ↑ SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; K. C. Jones Returns as Aide With Pistons – New York Times. Nytimes.com (1994-09-03). Retrieved on 2013-03-07.
  9. ↑ K.C. Jones Joins Celtics As Assistant
  10. ↑ U.S. Olympic HOF members – NBC Sports.com
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