James Jones (born January 1, 1945)
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 who was a six-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

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), one of only four players to be named an ABA All-Star six times in its nine-year history. A 6'4" guard born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Jones attended Grambling State University.

Playing career

Jones was drafted by 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 ...

's (NBA) Baltimore Bullets in 1967. Jones was also drafted by the

New Orleans Buccaneers The New Orleans Buccaneers were a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three seasons in New Orleans, Louisiana, the franchise moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where it became the Memphis Pros, Pros, Memphis Tams, Tams, and Me ...

in the 1967 ABA Draft. He signed for a three-year contract of $75,000 and a new car. Since he was not a number one draft choice in the NBA, he began his professional career in the rival ABA where he was a number one draft choice, playing seven seasons for the

Memphis Pros Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

and Utah Stars. Jones was one of the ABA's best players, averaging 19.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds during his seven years in that league. As late as 1974, Jones was thought to be among if not the best guard in the league; Jones believed he was not among the best defensive players at his position but felt his size was comparable. Desiring a pay raise but playing for a team that was strapped for cash, Jones finally joined the Bullets franchise in 1974, appearing in three seasons before retiring in 1977.

ABA and NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left; , , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans (ABA) , 78 , , – , , 41.7 , , .467 , , .222 , , .709 , , 5.7 , , 2.3 , , – , , – , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left" , , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans (ABA) , 77 , , – , , 41.4 , , bgcolor="CFECEC", .535* , , .143 , , .805 , , 5.7 , , 5.7 , , – , , – , , 26.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans (ABA) , 70 , , – , , 35.9 , , .497 , , .000 , , .810 , , 4.5 , , 4.9 , , – , , – , , 20.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Memphis (ABA) , 80 , , – , , 37.6 , , .486 , , .571 , , .778 , , 4.8 , , 5.9 , , – , , – , , 19.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah (ABA) , 78 , , – , , 37.2 , , .512 , , .167 , , .779 , , 4.8 , , 6.2 , , – , , – , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah (ABA) , 80 , , – , , 35.6 , , .523 , , .000 , , .799 , , 4.2 , , 5.6 , , – , , – , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah (ABA) , 83 , , – , , 38.1 , , .550 , , .000 , , bgcolor="CFECEC", .884* , , 4.3 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 73 , , – , , 19.5 , , .518 , , – , , .725 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 64 , , – , , 17.7 , , .497 , , – , , .766, , 2.0 , , 1.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 3 , , – , , 11.0 , , .333 , , – , , .500 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 686 , , – , , 34.2 , , .509 , , .250 , , .785 , , 4.3 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 16.6

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, style="text-align:left;", New Orleans (ABA) , 17 , , – , , 46.2 , , .457 , , .000 , , .737 , , 6.9 , , 3.3 , , – , , – , , 22.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1969 , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans (ABA) , 11 , , – , , 40.5 , , .552 , , .000 , , .761 , , 5.3 , , 5.4 , , – , , – , , 30.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, style="text-align:left;", Memphis (ABA) , 4 , , – , , 32.5 , , .500 , , – , , .680 , , 6.0 , , 3.8 , , – , , – , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah (ABA) , 11 , , – , , 39.5 , , .541 , , – , , .714 , , 4.0 , , 6.3 , , – , , – , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah (ABA) , 10 , , – , , 31.6 , , .492 , , – , , .795 , , 4.1 , , 4.3 , , – , , – , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1974 , style="text-align:left;", Utah (ABA) , 18 , , – , , 41.2 , , .577 , , .000 , , .776 , , 4.8 , , 5.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 20.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 11 , , – , , 18.7 , , .453 , , – , , .909 , , 2.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 7 , , – , , 23.6 , , .489 , , – , , .857, , 2.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 8.9 , - , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 89 , , – , , 36.2 , , .517 , , .000 , , .758 , , 4.6 , , 4.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 18.8

Legacy

Among the most underrated players of his day, Jones was once called "the most deserving ABA candidate remaining" of players from his ABA playing days to not currently be in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Of the four six-time ABA All-Stars, Jones is the only one not in the Hall as of 2025. In 2013, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.https://www.houmatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/06/27/jones-long-wait-for-hall-is-finally-over/27056478007/

References

External links

Career Stats
@ basketball-reference.com

@ Remember the ABA {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jimmy 1945 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen ABA All-Stars American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks Basketball players from Louisiana Grambling State Tigers men's basketball players Memphis Pros players New Orleans Buccaneers draft picks New Orleans Buccaneers players People from Tallulah, Louisiana Shooting guards Small forwards Utah Stars players Washington Bullets players