Jimmy Jones (basketball)
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James Jones (born January 1, 1945)[1] is an American former professional basketball player who was a six-time All-Star in the American Basketball Association (ABA), one of only four players to be named an ABA All-Star six times in its nine-year history.
A 6'4" guard born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Jones attended Grambling State University.[1]
Playing career
Jones was drafted by the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Baltimore Bullets in 1967.[1] Jones was also drafted by the New Orleans Buccaneers in the 1967 ABA Draft. He signed for a three-year contract of $75,000 and a new car.[1][2]
Since he was not a number one draft choice in the NBA, he began his professional career in the rival ABA where he was a number one draft choice, playing seven seasons for the New Orleans Buccaneers/Memphis Pros and Utah Stars. Jones was one of the ABA's best players, averaging 19.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds during his seven years in that league. As late as 1974, Jones was thought to be among if not the best guard in the league; Jones believed he was not among the best defensive players at his position but felt his size was comparable.[3]
Desiring a pay raise but playing for a team that was strapped for cash, Jones finally joined the Bullets franchise in 1974, appearing in three seasons before retiring in 1977.
ABA and NBA career statistics
| 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 |
| Bold | Denotes career highs |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Abay | New Orleans (ABA) | 78 | – | 41.7 | .467 | .222 | .709 | 5.7 | 2.3 | – | – | 18.8 |
| Template:Abay | New Orleans (ABA) | 77 | – | 41.4 | .535* | .143 | .805 | 5.7 | 5.7 | – | – | 26.6 |
| Template:Abay | New Orleans (ABA) | 70 | – | 35.9 | .497 | .000 | .810 | 4.5 | 4.9 | – | – | 20.7 |
| 1970–71 | Memphis (ABA) | 80 | – | 37.6 | .486 | .571 | .778 | 4.8 | 5.9 | – | – | 19.6 |
| 1971–72 | Utah (ABA) | 78 | – | 37.2 | .512 | .167 | .779 | 4.8 | 6.2 | – | – | 15.5 |
| 1972–73 | Utah (ABA) | 80 | – | 35.6 | .523 | .000 | .799 | 4.2 | 5.6 | – | – | 16.7 |
| 1973–74 | Utah (ABA) | 83 | – | 38.1 | .550 | .000 | .884* | 4.3 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 16.8 |
| 1974–75 | Washington | 73 | – | 19.5 | .518 | – | .725 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 7.1 |
| 1975–76 | Washington | 64 | – | 17.7 | .497 | – | .766 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| 1976–77 | Washington | 3 | – | 11.0 | .333 | – | .500 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Career | 686 | – | 34.2 | .509 | .250 | .785 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 16.6 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | New Orleans (ABA) | 17 | – | 46.2 | .457 | .000 | .737 | 6.9 | 3.3 | – | – | 22.1 |
| 1969 | New Orleans (ABA) | 11 | – | 40.5 | .552 | .000 | .761 | 5.3 | 5.4 | – | – | 30.2 |
| 1971 | Memphis (ABA) | 4 | – | 32.5 | .500 | – | .680 | 6.0 | 3.8 | – | – | 16.3 |
| 1972 | Utah (ABA) | 11 | – | 39.5 | .541 | – | .714 | 4.0 | 6.3 | – | – | 21.0 |
| 1973 | Utah (ABA) | 10 | – | 31.6 | .492 | – | .795 | 4.1 | 4.3 | – | – | 16.3 |
| 1974 | Utah (ABA) | 18 | – | 41.2 | .577 | .000 | .776 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 20.8 |
| 1975 | Washington | 11 | – | 18.7 | .453 | – | .909 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 6.2 |
| 1976 | Washington | 7 | – | 23.6 | .489 | – | .857 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 8.9 |
| Career | 89 | – | 36.2 | .517 | .000 | .758 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 18.8 | |
Legacy
Among the most underrated players of his day, Jones was once called "the most deserving ABA candidate remaining" of players from his ABA playing days to not currently be in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Of the four six-time ABA All-Stars, Jones is the only one not in the Hall as of 2025.[4] In 2013, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
References
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- ↑ a b c d Jimmy Jones page at BasketballReference.com Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ https://from-way-downtown.com/2024/06/04/james-jones-best-guard-in-the-aba-1974/
- ↑ https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41736998/basketball-hall-fame-nba-eligible-next-three-years
- ↑ https://www.houmatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/06/27/jones-long-wait-for-hall-is-finally-over/27056478007/
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External links
- Career Stats @ basketball-reference.com
- Jimmy Jones @ Remember the ABA
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- Pages with script errors
- 1945 births
- Living people
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- ABA All-Stars
- American men's basketball players
- Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks
- Basketball players from Louisiana
- Grambling State Tigers men's basketball players
- Memphis Pros players
- New Orleans Buccaneers draft picks
- New Orleans Buccaneers players
- People from Tallulah, Louisiana
- Shooting guards
- Small forwards
- Utah Stars players
- Washington Bullets players