James Bernett "Bunny" Chones (born November 30, 1949) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, and current radio analyst for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. A 6'11" forward/ center, Chones starred at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

, where he earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors as a junior in 1972 after averaging 20.5 points and 11.9

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game.Chones stats – Basketball Reference.com
/ref> When he left Marquette to pursue an ABA career, he was only the second player in NCAA history to leave school for professional basketball before his graduating year. The New York Nets offered him a sizeable contract, and stipulated that he must accept within days and leave college. As a result, he left Marquette in February 1972 with his college team undefeated and ranked second in the nation. After Chones' departure Marquette finished the season at 25–4. Professionally, he first played in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA) with the

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, with whom he was an ABA All-Rookie First Team selection. He also spent a season with the

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

. In 1975, he moved to the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, where he played five seasons with the

, and later won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980. He retired from basketball in 1982 with combined ABA/NBA totals of 9,821 points and 6,427

. After retiring from the NBA, Chones spent eleven seasons as the television color analyst for the

, and in 2007, returned as a radio postgame analyst. During the 2010–2011 season, usual Cavs radio voice

Joe Tait Joseph Tait (May 15, 1937 – March 10, 2021) was an American sports broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer on radio for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and both TV and radio for the Cleveland Indi ...

missed much of the season as he recovered from surgery/illness. During that time, Chones and

WTAM WTAM (1100 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, that airs a news/talk and sports radio format, commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of s ...

morning co-host/sports director and Cavs pregame/postgame host Mike Snyder formed the interim radio play by play team. Chones became a full-time member of the radio team in the 2011–2012 season, working with new play by play announcer John Michael. Chones's daughter Kaayla is a former professional basketball player and as of 2019 is the director of player program for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. He is portrayed in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series, Winning Time; The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty by Newton Mayenge.

Awards and honors

College

*1972 First Team All-AmericanJim Chones.com
/ref> *Marquette Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2004) * No. 22 retired by Marquette

Professional

*1973 ABA All-Rookie First Team *1980

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

as a member of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

*Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2002)Greater Cleveland Sports HOF – Cleveland Sports Hall.com
/ref> *Cavs Wall of Honor (class of 2024)

References

External links

* ttp://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=jim_chones Jim Chones statistics at NBA.COMbr>Racine Native Chones to Fill in as Bucks Analyst
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chones, Jim 1949 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1971 Pan American Games Carolina Cougars players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers announcers Cleveland Cavaliers players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players New York Nets draft picks New York Nets players Pan American Games basketball players for the United States Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Basketball players from Racine, Wisconsin Virginia Squires draft picks Washington Bullets players