Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Jones, the Boston Celtics' “Mr. Clutch” whose crisp shooting fueled the league's longest dynasty and earned him 10 NBA titles — 2nd lone to teammate Bill Russell — has died, the squad said. He was 88.
Jones died Thursday nighttime successful Florida, wherever helium had been hospitalised successful failing health, Celtics spokesperson Jeff Twiss said.
“Sam Jones was 1 of the astir talented, versatile, and clutch shooters for the astir palmy and ascendant teams successful NBA history," the squad said successful a statement.
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“His scoring quality was truthful prolific, and his signifier truthful pure, that helium earned the elemental nickname, ‘The Shooter,’” the Celtics said. “The Jones household is successful our thoughts arsenic we mourn his nonaccomplishment and fondly retrieve the beingness and vocation of 1 of the top champions successful American sports.”
The Celtics paused for a infinitesimal of soundlessness earlier Friday afternoon’s crippled against the Phoenix Suns, showing a video tribute connected the surface hanging among the title banners supra the parquet level astatine the TD Garden. His No. 24, which was retired by the Celtics successful 1969 portion helium was a inactive an progressive player, besides was displayed connected the show successful the hushed arena earlier a inactive photograph of him successful a suit and the words “Sam Jones 1933-2021.”
“Another 1 of my beloved friends lost,” Celtics broadcaster Cedric Maxwell wrote connected Twitter. “Well, the banks are unfastened successful eden this #NYE.”
Often providing the discourtesy portion Russell locked things down astatine the different end, Jones averaged 17.7 points per crippled implicit 12 seasons. The fig went up successful the postseason, erstwhile helium averaged 18.9 points and was usually the No. 1 enactment for the game's last changeable for the teams that won 10 titles from 1959-69.
“We ne'er flew archetypal people successful my 12 years of playing basketball,” Jones told The Associated Press this autumn successful an interrogation for the league's 75th anniversary. “But we ever won NBA championships.”
In 1964, Jones was a subordinate of the NBA's archetypal starting lineup to see 5 Black players, joining Russell, Tom “Satch” Sanders, K.C. Jones and Willie Naulls. Although manager Red Auerbach maintained helium was reasoning lone of his champion accidental to win, the lineup broke with an unwritten regularisation that pressured teams to person astatine slightest connected achromatic subordinate connected the floor.
Sam Jones, a North Carolina autochthonal who served 2 years successful the Army earlier returning to college, told the AP that the NBA of the 1960s was small antithetic than the segregated South wherever helium grew up and went to school.
“I’m warring for the state of everybody present successful the United States. And erstwhile I travel back, I inactive got to combat for my freedom,” Jones said. "Something is incorrect with that, and has ever been and is happening adjacent today.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Jones volition beryllium remembered arsenic “one of the astir prolific champions successful each of nonrecreational sports.”
“His selfless style, clutch performances and signature slope changeable were hallmarks of an unthinkable career," Silver said. "Sam was a beloved teammate and respected rival who played the crippled with dignity and class. We mourn the passing of a hoops elephantine and nonstop our deepest condolences to Sam’s household and the Celtics organisation.”
Born successful Wilmington, Jones attended North Carolina Central, a Division II, historically Black assemblage successful Durham. Auerbach archetypal heard of Jones erstwhile helium went to North Carolina to scout the nationalist champion Tar Heels and was told that the champion subordinate successful the authorities was really astatine Central playing for Hall of Fame manager John McLendon.
Auerbach selected Jones successful the archetypal circular of the 1957 draft, eighth overall, contempt ne'er seeing him play.
“Russell and I are the astir palmy players successful winning championships successful the NBA. Yet helium ne'er saw america play a crippled due to the fact that they had nary scouts,” Jones told the AP. “The coaches called different coaches to spot however different players were playing. They took their connection for it.”
Jones led the Celtics successful scoring 5 times — including the 1963 champions, erstwhile helium was 1 of 8 aboriginal Hall of Famers connected the roster. When helium retired successful 1969 astatine the property of 36, Jones held 11 Celtics records and was the lone subordinate successful franchise past to people much than 50 points successful a game.
“You look astatine the championships and what helium did, it’s evidently a large nonaccomplishment for the assemblage here," Celtics manager Ime Udoka said earlier Friday's game.
Using a slope changeable that was unconventional adjacent then, Jones came to beryllium known arsenic “Mr. Clutch” aft a bid of game-winners, including a buzzer-beater to clinch the 1962 Eastern Conference finals. He deed an off-balance, wrong-footed jumper to triumph Game 4 of the ‘69 Finals; alternatively of heading to Los Angeles trailing 3-1, the Celtics tied the bid against the Lakers astatine 2 games apiece and went connected to triumph successful seven.
Jones retired aft that title, having won his 10 championships successful 12 seasons. A five-time All-Star, helium was was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame successful 1984.
Jones was named to the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th day teams. His decease comes a twelvemonth aft teammate Tommy Heinsohn and 13 months pursuing the decease of K.C. Jones.
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