Sam Jones - #24 - Boston Celtics

Guard-Forward | 6'4" | 205 lbs. | Born: June 24, 1933

• Ten-time NBA champion
• Named to NBA's 25th anniversary team
• Named to NBA's 50th anniversary team
• No. 24 retired by Celtics
• Five-Time NBA All-Star
• Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984

Drafted eighth overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1957 NBA Draft.

Sam Jones - Biography

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Only one player in NBA history has won more championships than the legendary Sam Jones. That player happens to be his former teammate, Bill Russell.

Jones and Russell paired up to become one of the greatest tandems in sports history. The only reason Russell has one more title than Jones is because Jones arrived in the league one year later.

Boston selected Jones with the eighth overall pick in the 1957 NBA Draft. The pick was made just four days after the Celtics won Game 7 of the NBA Finals in thrilling fashion, downing the St. Louis Hawks 125-123 in double overtime.

Jones joined the Celtics after a phenomenal collegiate career at North Carolina Central University. The Wilmington, North Carolina native chose to stay local for his college days and play under Hall of Fame coach John McLendon. That wound up being a terrific decision, as Jones starred for McLendon for four seasons. He made three All-Conference teams and scored 1,770 points during college.

Legend has it that the head honcho in Boston, Red Auerbach, never actually watched Jones play in person before drafting him in 1957. Instead, he went against his typical stance of drafting only players who he had seen play in person on several occasions.

The selection of Jones shocked everyone, including Jones himself. The guard believed that his selection to the Celtics would end his career, as he didn’t believe he was good enough to make the World Championship team after playing at a small college.

“I never felt so miserable in my life when I got the news,” Jones was quoted as saying. “I really thought it was the end of my basketball career. Sure, I was thrilled with the honor… I never thought I’d be able to break into the game, let alone into the lineup.”

Truth be told, he’d break into the lineup eventually, and in a big way.

Jones played a very limited role in his rookie season as Auerbach eased the young shooting guard into his NBA career. His averages of only 4.6 points per game and 10.6 minutes per game were modest at best.

The nest season is when Jones’ ascension began. His playing time nearly doubled, while his scoring more than doubled up to 10.7 PPG. That 1958-59 season wound up being the first of 11 consecutive seasons in which Jones scored at least 10.7 PPG.

Jones continued to improve as the years went on and as such, his role increased as well. He became one of the top shooting guards in the league and maxed out with 25.9 PPG in 1964-65. He was a key cog in every championship team he was a member of, as he scored at least 20.6 PPG in seven of his 12 postseasons.

Those impressive postseasons helped him earn the nickname “Mr. Clutch.” When the Celtics needed a clutch bucket, Jones was almost always there to provide it. His most notable clutch moments arrived in 1961-62, when his basket over Wilt Chamberlain propelled the Celtics to the Finals. Jones then scored five of Boston’s 10 points in overtime of Game 7 against the Lakers to help the team capture its fourth straight title.

Jones was known most for two things: his bank shot and his movement. He mastered the use of the glass and capitalized on that skill very often. He also refused to stand still on the floor. Jones was always moving, and, interestingly enough, that was one of the traits that caught Auerbach’s eye during Jones’ very first training camp with the team.

Jones’ 12-year career with the Celtics included 15,411 points, 4,305 rebounds and 2,209 assists. He still ranks seventh on the team’s all-time scoring list. The Celtics honored him by retiring his No. 24 jersey on March 9, 1969, before a game in which he played and scored 16 points. Boston defeated the San Francisco Warriors by 49 points during that contest.

Honors for Jones did not end within Boston’s organization. The league took notice of his stellar career as well. Jones was selected to four NBA All-Star games and was named to the NBA’s 25th and 50th Anniversary Teams. He was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with the class of 1984.

What a story for No. 24. Jones was a small town, North Carolina boy who grew into one of the greatest champions in sports history. He was skeptical of how his career would unfold with the Celtics, but in hindsight, his pairing with Russell and Boston was meant to be.

Sam Jones

Height: 6'4" Weight: 205 LBS Birth: 06/24/33 College: NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL '57
First round draft choice (the 8th pick overall) in 1957... retired in 1969.

Regular Season Record

Year	G	MIN	FGM	FGA	PCT	FTM	FTA	PCT	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	PF-DQ	ST	BL	PTS	AVG
57-58	56	594	100	233	.429	60	84	.714	-	-	160	37	42-0	-	-	260	4.6
58-59	71	1466	305	703	.434	151	196	.770	-	-	428	101	102-0	-	-	761	10.7
59-60	74	1512	355	782	.454	168	220	.764	-	-	375	125	101-1	-	-	878	11.9
60-61	78	2028	480	1069	.449	211	268	.787	-	-	421	217	148-1	-	-	1171	15.0
61-62	78	2388	596	1284	.464	243	297	.818	-	-	458	232	149-0	-	-	1435	18.4
62-63	76	2323	621	1305	.476	257	324	.793	-	-	396	241	162-1	-	-	1499	19.7
63-64	76	2381	612	1359	.450	249	318	.783	-	-	349	202	192-1	-	-	1473	19.4
64-65	80	2885	821	1818	.452	428	522	.820	-	-	411	223	176-0	-	-	2070	25.9
65-66	67	2155	626	1335	.469	325	407	.799	-	-	347	216	170-0	-	-	1577	23.5
66-67	72	2325	638	1406	.454	318	371	.857	-	-	338	217	191-1	-	-	1594	22.1
67-68	73	2408	621	1348	.461	311	376	.827	-	-	357	216	181-0	-	-	1553	21.3
68-69	70	1820	496	1103	.450	148	189	.783	-	-	265	182	121-0	-	-	1140	16.3
TOTALS	871	24285	6271	13745	.456	2869	3572	.803	-	-	4305	2209	1735-5	-	-	15411	17.7
-
Playoff Record
Year	G	MIN	FGM	FGA	PCT	FTM	FTA	PCT	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	PF-DQ	ST	BL	PTS	AVG
57-58	8	75	10	22	.455	11	16	.688	-	-	24	4	7-0	-	-	31	3.9
58-59	11	192	40	108	.370	33	39	.846	-	-	63	17	14-0	-	-	113	10.3
59-60	13	197	45	117	.385	17	21	.809	-	-	41	18	15-0	-	-	107	8.2
60-61	10	258	50	112	.446	31	35	.886	-	-	54	22	22-0	-	-	131	13.1
61-62	14	504	123	277	.444	42	60	.700	-	-	99	44	30-0	-	-	288	20.6
62-63	13	450	120	248	.484	69	83	.831	-	-	81	32	42-1	-	-	309	23.8
63-64	10	356	91	180	.506	50	68	.735	-	-	47	23	24-0	-	-	232	23.2
64-65	12	495	135	294	.459	73	84	.869	-	-	55	30	39-1	-	-	343	28.6
65-66	17	602	154	343	.449	114	136	.838	-	-	86	53	65-1	-	-	422	24.8
66-67	9	326	95	207	.459	50	58	.862	-	-	46	28	30-1	-	-	240	26.7
67-68	19	685	162	367	.441	66	84	.786	-	-	64	50	58-0	-	-	390	20.5
68-69	18	514	124	296	.419	55	69	.797	-	-	58	37	45-1	-	-	303	16.8
TOTALS	154	4654	1149	2571	.447	611	753	.811	-	-	718	358	391-5	-	-	2909	18.9
-