K. C. Jones
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
 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:
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| 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
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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]
Contents
1 Playing career
1.1 Hall of Fame legacy
2 Coaching career
3 NBA career Statistics
3.1 Regular season
3.2 Playoffs
4 Life after the NBA
5 Head coaching record
6 Awards and honors
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
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] Jones was also considered to once again coach the Celtics during the off-season in 1995.[9] In 1996, Jones returned to the Boston Celtics, this time as an assistant coach for one season.[10]
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 | 82 | 47 | 35 | .573 | 1st in Central | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in Conference Semifinals |
Washington | 1974–75 | 82 | 60 | 22 | .732 | 1st in Central | 17 | 8 | 9 | .471 | Lost in NBA Finals |
Washington | 1975–76 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2nd in Central | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in Conference Semifinals |
Boston | 1983–84 | 82 | 62 | 20 | .756 | 1st in Atlantic | 23 | 15 | 8 | .652 | Won NBA Championship |
Boston | 1984–85 | 82 | 63 | 19 | .768 | 1st in Atlantic | 21 | 13 | 8 | .619 | Lost in NBA Finals |
Boston | 1985–86 | 82 | 67 | 15 | .817 | 1st in Atlantic | 18 | 15 | 3 | .833 | Won NBA Championship |
Boston | 1986–87 | 82 | 59 | 23 | .720 | 1st in Atlantic | 23 | 13 | 10 | .565 | Lost in NBA Finals |
Boston | 1987–88 | 82 | 57 | 25 | .695 | 1st in Atlantic | 17 | 9 | 8 | .529 | Lost in Conference Finals |
Seattle | 1990–91 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 5th in Pacific | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in First Round |
Seattle | 1991–92 | 36 | 18 | 18 | .500 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
Career | 774 | 522 | 252 | .674 | 138 | 81 | 57 | .587 |
Awards and honors
- Two-time NCAA Champion
- 1956 Olympic Gold Medal winner
- 12-time NBA Champion (eight as a player, two as a head coach, two as an assistant coach)
- "Triple Crown" winner
- Five-time NBA All-Star Game head coach
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (class of 1989)
College Basketball Hall of Fame (class of 2006)
U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (class of 1986 – as a member of the 1956 U.S. men's basketball team)[11]- 2016 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award
See also
- List of NBA players with most championships
References
^ NBA Legends profile: K.C. Jones
^ Berkman, Seth (June 19, 2016), "N.B.A. Finals Legend or Loser? Luck Is Often the Difference", The New York Times.mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Throwback Thursday: K.C. Jones". The Starting Five. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
^ Basketball's Triple Crown – The Post Game.com
^ Former Celtic K.C. Jones to Coach Basketball Here
^ https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/04/sports/k-c-jones-to-retire-as-coach.html
^ https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/16/sports/sports-people-basketball-k-c-jones-leaves-celtics-to-join-sonics.html
^ SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; K. C. Jones Returns as Aide With Pistons – New York Times. Nytimes.com (1994-09-03). Retrieved on 2013-03-07.
^ https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1995-05-18-9505180302-story.html
^ K.C. Jones Joins Celtics As Assistant
^ U.S. Olympic HOF members – NBC Sports.com
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to K. C. Jones. |
K. C. Jones at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame- NBA.com profile
- BasketballReference.com: K.C. Jones (as coach)
- BasketballReference.com: K.C. Jones (as player)
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