| Bobby Jones | |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 9 |
| Weight Lb: | 210 |
| Birth Date: | 18 December 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. |
| High School: | South Mecklenburg (Charlotte, North Carolina) |
| College: | North Carolina (1971–1974) |
| Draft Year: | 1974 |
| Draft Round: | 1 |
| Draft Pick: | 5 |
| Draft Team: | Houston Rockets |
| Career Start: | 1974 |
| Career End: | 1986 |
| Career Number: | 24 |
| Career Position: | Power forward |
| Years1: | 1974– |
| Team1: | Denver Nuggets |
| Years2: | – |
| Team2: | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Highlights: |
|
| Stats League: | ABA and NBA |
| Stat1label: | Points |
| Stat1value: | 11,391 (12.1 ppg) |
| Stat2label: | Rebounds |
| Stat2value: | 5,739 (6.1 rpg) |
| Stat3label: | Assists |
| Stat3value: | 2,522 (2.7 apg) |
| Hof Player: | Bobby-Jones |
Robert Clyde Jones (born December 18, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Denver Nuggets in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Secretary of Defense", Jones won an NBA championship with the 76ers in 1983, was a four-time NBA All-Star, a nine-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team, and was the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1983.
Jones grew up in a family that valued sports. His father, a World War II veteran who had served in Japan, had played on the 1947 Oklahoma Sooners national championship runner-up team and later on became a nationally ranked tennis player. His mother was a dominant high school athlete in basketball and tennis. Older brother Kirby was an All-State cager and later a Sooner who was also a state champion in tennis.[1]
Since Kirby versus Mr. Jones did not make for many close matches, Bobby was invariably enlisted to join them in their games behind the house. "I didn’t enjoy sports," Jones remembered. "I would rather watch television, but my father wanted me to play." His father then made him play on the church's league team. When he was in sixth grade, his father built a basketball ring. When his father was away working for Goodyear, he would assign them drills to work on.[2] One of those drills was shooting right-handed, despite being left-handed.[3] He grew to enjoy these drills. As he got better at basketball, it became a way for him to socialize in high school.[4]
As a sophomore at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, Jones made the basketball team. His brother Kirby was also on the squad. Bobby preferred track and field more, because he could practice by himself on his own terms. He won the state high jump title twice, finishing second in his junior year to Bob McAdoo. As a senior, Jones broke the state record by clearing the bar at a height of 6 feet, 8 inches.
Jones succeeded on the court in his junior year, earning Charlotte's Player of the Year Award and leading South Mecklenburg into the state playoffs. His squad lost to a Greensboro team that starred McAdoo, but South Mecklenburg won the championship a year later. Still, with all of his success as a cager, Jones did not think much about a future in basketball. "It was a seasonal thing," he said, "but the colleges became interested, so I thought it was a way I could go to school free." He was recruited by the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and Florida. He also had interest in Davidson College, as he regularly attended their games.
Jones ended up playing for Dean Smith at UNC. He chose UNC as he connected with the coaching staff, which included Bill Guthridge and John Lotz. He didn't play as a freshman, per NCAA eligibility rules at the time.[5] Instead, he learned defensive skills from Smith and Guthridge.
As a sophomore, he shot an ACC record 66.8% from the floor and helped UNC get into the Final Four. There they fell to the Florida State Seminoles.[6]
After his time with the U.S. national team, he started the gesture of pointing to teammates, whether he made the shot or not. Coach Smith called it "The Bobby Jones Rule", as a way of appreciating their teammates.[7]
The American Basketball Association's Carolina Cougars selected Jones after his junior season in the 1973 Special Circumstances Draft, but Jones wanted to finish his psychology degree and polish his game, so he returned to North Carolina for his senior year.
He turned in an All-America campaign in 1973–74, averaging 16.1 points. He turned in memorable performances against Duke that season, including a clutch steal and game-winning layup against them in March. On UNC's "Senior Day", he contributed four points in the clutch as the team scored eight straight points to tie the game and eventually win in overtime 96–92.[8] He finished that game with 24 points.[9] He finished with averages of 13.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 60.8% from the field, and graduated with his psychology degree.[10] [11]
Jones was selected by the Houston Rockets with the fifth overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft.
Meanwhile, the Cougars franchise was moved to Missouri after the 1973–74 season and became the Spirits of St. Louis. Former Carolina Coach Larry Brown had moved on to the Denver Nuggets, and he was determined on getting his hands on Jones. After acquiring his rights from St. Louis in exchange for the rights to Marvin Barnes, the Nuggets outbid Houston for Jones's services, offering him a seven-year, $1.4-million contract.
With Brown at the reins and Jones in the frontcourt, Denver went 65–19 in 1974–75, the best record in the ABA that year and the second-best mark in league history. Jones shot .604 from the floor for an ABA record, scored 14.8 points per game, and won a spot on the ABA All-Rookie Team. In 1975–76, the ABA's final season, Jones averaged 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds and again topped the circuit in field-goal percentage at .581. He also played in the 1976 ABA All-Star Game and was named to the All-ABA Second Team. The Nuggets, with stars David Thompson and Dan Issel, finished with a league-best 60–24 record.
Jones transitioned to the NBA with the ABA–NBA merger in June 1976, as did the rest of the Nuggets. Denver shocked the more established circuit by winning the Midwest Division that season and the next year as well. Thompson was an offensive machine, and Jones made solid contributions at both ends of the floor. In 1976–77 he averaged a career-high 15.1 points, ranked third in the league with a .570 field-goal percentage, and played in his first NBA All-Star Game. He also outpolled all other players in earning the first of eight straight selections to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, as he had the best defensive rating in the league. They lost to the eventual champions the Portland Trail Blazers in the semis.[12]
The following season Jones averaged 14.5 points, elevated his field-goal percentage to a league-leading .578, and returned to the All-Star Game. However, his performance dipped in the playoffs, and they were eliminated in six games by the Seattle Supersonics in the Western Conference finals.[13]
Nuggets management feared Jones would be limited by his health problems, as his epilepsy was getting worse throughout the season. This would be his final season in Denver. He finished his career in Denver with averages of 14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 2.0 steals per game.
After the 1977–78 campaign Jones was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers with Ralph Simpson and a first round draft pick for forward George McGinnis. The trade came with a clause that should Jones be disabled due to epilepsy, the 76ers would receive a draft pick. There he joined a team that was coached by another UNC alum, Billy Cunningham. That season, they won 47 games as he averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. He was also selected to the First-Team All-Defense once again.
Primarily a starter during his four seasons with the Nuggets, Jones made another transition after his first year with the Sixers. Coach Cunningham thought Jones would be best utilized as a sixth man, coming off the bench for the frontline Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins, and Caldwell Jones. Cunningham was worried that the change would devastate Jones, but it took Jones about half a minute to agree to the coach's plan.
Beginning with the 1979–80 campaign, Jones still averaged about 25 minutes. He also scored 14.4 points in his first season off the bench, his highest scoring average in his time with the Sixers. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers that year.
He returned to the NBA All-Star Game in 1981 as he was voted in by the coaches. Their season ended on a one-point loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
In 1981–82, Bobby Jones briefly returned to the starting lineup for that season, starting 73 games. He was an All-Star again that season. They avenged their loss to the Celtics the previous season in an Eastern Conference finals rematch, but lost once again to the Lakers in six games.
The arrival of star center Moses Malone from Houston for Caldwell prior to the 1982–83 campaign was seen as a gamechanger for the Sixers' title hopes. In the regular season, they went on a 14-game win streak, and won 65 games. Malone repeated as league MVP.
In the playoffs, the 76ers began with a sweep of the New York Knicks, although each game was decided by fewer than 10 points. In game one of the conference finals, the Milwaukee Bucks led by 109–108 with one minute 36 seconds to go in overtime. Alton Lister of the Bucks tried to inbound the ball but Jones stole the pass and flipped the ball to Clint Richardson. Richardson scored on a dunk to send the 76ers ahead 110–109. A Philadelphia Inquirer article on Jones paraphrased the famous John Havlicek call by Johnny Most stating, "Bobby Jones stole the ball. It was grand larceny. Bobby Jones stole the ball and robbed the Milwaukee Bucks of a game, turning an almost-sure upset into a 111–109 overtime victory for the 76ers."[14] In Game 2, he had a crucial block on Brian Winters that helped seal the win for the 76ers.
After a Game 4 loss to Milwaukee, Philadelphia then swept through the rest of the playoffs, eventually sweeping the Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals. After the season ended, Jones won the first-ever NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. From the Eastern Conference finals to the NBA Finals, he averaged 1.7 steals and 1.9 blocks.[15]
The Sixers began a steady decline after that championship year, finishing second to Boston the next three seasons. Jones turned in steady defense and solid numbers during those years, although his playing time and production tailed off gradually. Still, he was as efficient as ever. In the 1985–86 season, Jones shot .559 from the floor, but only averaged 6.6 points per game despite returning to the starting lineup. That season, they were eliminated by the Bucks in the playoffs.[16] He retired at age 34, and the Sixers retired his uniform No. 24 shortly afterward.
In his 12-year professional career, Jones had multiple selections to the NBA All-Defensive First Team; the first-ever NBA Sixth Man Award; membership on the ABA All-Rookie Team; four appearances in the NBA All-Star Game and one in the ABA All-Star Game; and also an NBA Championship with the Philadelphia 76ers, in 1983.[17] Throughout his career, he averaged 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, and his teams never missed the playoffs.[18]
Said a young Charles Barkley while a teammate of Jones's, "If everyone in the world was like Bobby Jones, the world wouldn’t have any problems."
In 1972, tryouts for the U.S. Olympic Team were about to be held. Jones was not only unaware of the trials, but he also did not know that the Games were being staged in Munich, as he was attending summer school. When Dean Smith heard that a couple of players had been taken ill at the tryouts, while others were protesting the war, he got in touch with Jones.[19] After making sure Jones was healthy (as he was recovering from a seizure at the time) he invited him to the tryouts. Jones made the team, starting all but one game due to a finger injury. He played only 5 minutes in the Soviet Union's controversial win over the United States in the gold medal game.
Jones is known as a versatile defensive player. Although listed as a power forward, he often guarded the other team's best small forward. In college, he could guard bigmen and guards. He was also known for being athletic, which helped him deny the ball and box out for rebounds.
A personal goal of his is to get at least 100 blocks and 100 steals every season, which he achieved six times. He is one of only seven players in both NBA and NBA history to total at least 1,300 blocks and 1,300 steals. In his NBA career, he made the top 20 in defensive rating six times. He made the ABA and NBA All-Defensive Team in almost every season he played, with his final NBA season being the only season he did not make any All-Defensive Team.[20] He credits his time at North Carolina for his development on defense.
Although he is not a three-point shooter (he shot 0-for-17 in his NBA career), he could make shots consistently from the elbow. He was also great at running fast breaks. Those skills, along with being an ambidextrous finisher and being smart with his shot selection, helped give him a career field goal percentage of 56%. He never shot below 52% in any season of his career. His field goal percentage of 59.2 is the ABA’s all-time record.
Although he had the skills to be a starter, Jones often came off the bench.[21] This was good for him as it allowed him to scout the opposition and conserve energy for late-game situations. It also helped his physical condition, as he was taking medication for his epilepsy at the time.
Jones has been lauded for his selfless mentality and the intense effort he gave in games. "If I was going to ask a youngster to model after someone, I would pick Bobby Jones." said longtime 76ers teammate Julius Erving, "He's a player who's totally selfless, who runs like a deer, jumps like a gazelle, plays with his head and heart each night, and then walks away from the court as if nothing happened." Opponents called him "one of the toughest to play against". He was a part of 595 wins throughout his career from the ABA to the NBA, almost twice the number of games he lost.
As for his almost polite approach to the game, Jones believed that anything less would have been downright unacceptable. "If I have to play defense by holding on, that's when I quit," Jones said early in his career. "If I have to use an elbow to get position, then I’m going to have to settle for another position. And if I foul, or if the official makes a mistake, there's no use screaming about it. It won’t change things or make me happier." He was aggressive when he needed to foul, but he never did it to make a point.
Jones was always honest and polite with referees. He would admit to referees if he was the one who sent the ball out of bounds or if he had fouled a player, even if it didn't help the team in the moment. Larry Brown, Jones's coach with the Denver Nuggets, remarked, "Watching Bobby Jones on the basketball court is like watching an honest man in a liars’ poker game." As a result, referees would respect him and more calls would go their way.[22] Referee Joey Crawford said "
In his entire career, he was never called for a technical foul. In his Hall of Fame speech, he gave credit to the referees.
In 1988, Billy Cunningham, who had just helped establish the Miami Heat, attempted to persuade him to play for them. After a physical and a scrimmage, he decided against returning.
Jones endorsed Nike throughout his career. In 1982, Jones was one of the first athletes to wear Nike's Air Force 1 sneakers.[23] Nike also made a marketing campaign around him, which included a poster that dubbed him "The Secretary of Defense".[24]
After retiring, Jones became a public speaker. He speaks at churches and schools, both local and international.[25] [26] He also stays in touch with the 76ers organization and is often invited to speak to the team.
In 2003, Jones cofounded a Charlotte, North Carolina-based religiously affiliated non-profit, 2xsalt, that supports underprivileged youth through sports, along with Bart Kofoed and former teammate David Thompson.[27]
Jones has coached several school basketball teams in the Charlotte area including Charlotte Christian for 12 years, and won three state titles. He then became an assistant coach at Carmel Christian School.[28] At Carmel Christian, he also coached their tennis team, held basketball clinics there, and was their summer camp coordinator. He also coached the South Charlotte Thunder.
Jones is married and they have three children and seven grandchildren. They live in Greensboro, North Carolina. One of his sons, Eric, played for UNC's junior varisty team.
Jones suffers occasional epileptic seizures, which requires medication. His first seizure occurred when he was a sophomore at UNC after an intramural volleyball game. At the time, he was misdiagnosed with pericarditis, an inflammation of the heart sac. He experienced three more seizures from 1976 to 1978. In 1978, stricken by a seizure in his kitchen one day, Jones fell onto a butcher block and gashed open his head. The incident nearly led him to quit basketball. After he was traded to Philadelphia, he vowed to be more open about his diagnosis to break the stigma surrounding epilepsy. His perseverance earned him Philadelphia's Most Courageous Athlete Award in 1984, which he dedicated to his wife, Tess.[29] He also suffered from a heart ailment, but after he was traded to Philadelphia, it never reoccurred again.
Jones is a devout Christian. He grew up attending a Baptist church and devoted his life to Christ when he was in college. He said that the Bible affected how he played basketball, as it commanded followers to give their best in everything they did. Pat Williams, the general manager of the 76ers at the time, credited him for helping establish pregame chapel services, which all NBA teams still do to this day.[30] [31] Throughout his ordeal with epilepsy, he credits his faith for helping him get through it. He is also active with Christian ministries such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Athletes in Action.[32] Cody Zeller credited Jones for helping him transition to the NBA as a spiritual mentor to him.
When a computer-generated ranking sponsored by Seagram Distillers rated Jones the NBA's "most consistent and productive player" in 1976–77, Jones donated the $10,000 prize to religious charities. He stated at the award dinner: "I’m definitely against whiskey, and I just felt God gave me this money not to keep, but to use." And while he never asked teammates or coaches to avoid expletives, they frequently found themselves crying out "Oh, shoot!" in his presence.
The Sixers retired the No. 24 jersey in 1986. During his entire tenure with the Sixers, Jones' jersey always included the letter B with a period before his last name (B. JONES) above his number 24; he still wore it even after former teammate Caldwell Jones was traded for Moses Malone in 1982 and Caldwell's brother Charles left after only one season with the Sixers (1983–84). However, during the 2008 season, as part of the Sixers' 25th anniversary of the 1983 champions, he was given a framed replica jersey that simply states his last name without the letter B, since he was the only Sixer named Jones to play on the 1983 team. In 2018, a statue of him was unveiled at the Sixers' training complex. It shows him diving for a loose ball.
In 2015, he was inducted into the FCA's Hall of Fame.[33] On April 6, 2019, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[34] He was inducted on September 6, 2019 with an introduction from Julius Erving and Charles Barkley, who filled in for his coach Billy Cunningham and David Thompson.
On January 28, 2020 Joel Embiid requested and was granted permission by Jones to wear his retired jersey number 24 for the Sixers, in honor of the late Kobe Bryant.[35]
In 2008, Athletes in Action named an award after him, the Bobby Jones Award, which recognizes an NBA player "who lives an exemplary life on the basketball court, in the home and in the community".[36] [37]