DENVER, Aug. 23, 2021 – The Denver Nuggets have announced they have hired Popeye Jones to join Head Coach Michael Malone’s staff as an assistant coach.
Jones served as an assistant coach under Doc Rivers with the Philadelphia 76ers last season and spent the prior seven seasons with the Indiana Pacers as an assistant coach.
Jones had a three-year tenure with the Brooklyn/New Jersey Nets front office, starting in player development before transitioning to an assistant coach role. He began his coaching career with the Dallas Mavericks where he worked in player development.
Jones played collegiately at Murray State, where he is fourth on the Racers’ all-time scoring list. In 1992, the school retired his No. 54. A second-round pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, Jones played one season in Italy before joining the Mavericks in 1993. Jones also appeared in 40 games during the 1999-2000 with the Nuggets, averaging 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game.
Jones' career spanned 11 seasons, appearing in 535 games (304 starts) for Dallas, Toronto, Boston, Denver, Washington and Golden State, holding career averages of 7.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game.