Jonquel Orthea Jones (born January 5, 1994) is a Bahamian 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 for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft. Since May 2019, she also holds the citizenship of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, allowing her to play for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. A 6'6"

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

/ center, Jones played college basketball for Clemson and

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. After the February

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, she left the Russian team

UMMC Ekaterinburg BC Ekaterinburg () is a Russian professional women's basketball team based in Yekaterinburg competing in the Russian Premier League, and until February 2022 in FIBA Europe's EuroLeague Women. Founded in 1938 as Zenit Sverdlovsk, the club had its ...

, and joined the Turkish team

Çukurova Basketbol Çukurova basketbol Mersin (ÇBK Mersin), for sponsorship reasons Çimsa ÇBK Mersin, is a Turkish professional women's basketball club based in Mersin, Türkiye. The club was founded in 2015 and currently competing in the Women's Basketball Su ...

Early life

Jones was born in The Bahamas. She attended Tabernacle Baptist Academy. At age 14, she moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where she attended

Riverdale Baptist School Riverdale Baptist School (RBS) is a private Christian school located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, serving students from Pre-K to 12. It is located in Prince George's County, Maryland, and is accredited through Middle States Association of College ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

women's basketball head coach Diane Richardson became her legal guardian. Her nickname in high school was "Big Slim".

WNBA career

In 2016, Jones was acquired by the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

after having her draft rights traded by the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

in exchange for

Chelsea Gray Chelsea Nichelle Gray (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Nicknamed "Point Gawd", she was the eleventh pick in the 2014 WNBA draft by ...

and two draft picks. In her rookie season, Jones was the backup center for the Sun. She averaged 6.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.1 bpg in 34 games with 6 starts. In 2017, Jones became the starting center for the Sun and had a breakout second season. After an 0–4 start, Jones led the Sun to their first win of the season, scoring 23 points along with 21 rebounds in a 97–79 win over the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

, making her the 13th player in league history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound performance. On July 8, Jones scored a team-high 22 points and 9 rebounds as the Sun completed the biggest comeback in franchise history, defeating the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

96–92 after overcoming a 22-point deficit. Jones was selected to the

2017 WNBA All-Star Game The 2017 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 22, 2017. The Seattle Storm hosted a WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. Starters for this year's All-Star game were selected by a combination of fan, media, and pla ...

, her first career All-Star Game appearance. She finished the season averaging a double-double in points and rebounds and also averaged career-highs in scoring, rebounding, and blocks. She broke the single season record for rebounds with 403, breaking Tina Charles previous record of 398 (the record would be broken again by

Sylvia Fowles Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles (born October 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, WNBA MVP Award in 2017 ...

in 2018). Jones was selected to the

and received the

WNBA Most Improved Player Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Most Improved Player Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 2000 WNBA season, to the most improved player of the regular season. The winner is selected b ...

. Her breakout performance, along with teammates Jasmine Thomas and

Alyssa Thomas Alyssa Thomas (born April 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball Forward (basketball), forward for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins wome ...

emerging as All-Stars, led the Sun to the playoffs as the fourth-seeded team. They received a bye to the second-round elimination game, where Jones scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in an 88–83 loss to the number 5-seeded

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Iounescu 2024-09-08 at 8

In 2018, Jones would have a reduced role on the team despite her success from last season. She started in 16 of the 34 games played but would still effective for the Sun both in the starting lineup and off the bench. By the end of the season, Jones won the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year award. The Sun made it back to the playoffs as the number 4 seed with a 21–13 record, receiving a bye to the second round. However the Sun would lose yet again to the Phoenix Mercury in the second round elimination game by a final score of 96–86. In 2019, Jones would redeem her starting Center role for the whole season. She would lead the league in rebounds once again and averaged a career-high in blocks, steals and minutes by the end of the season. Jones was also voted into the

2019 WNBA All-Star Game The 2019 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 27, 2019. The Las Vegas Aces hosted the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. Rosters Selection On June 12, the WNBA announced that 2019 would similar roster selecti ...

, making it her second all-star appearance and would also make WNBA Second Team. The Sun were a championship contender in the league, finishing with a 23–11 record and the number 2 seed, receiving a double bye to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the Sun swept the

3–0 to advance to the WNBA Finals, making it the franchise's first Finals appearance since 2005, and Jones' first career Finals appearance. The WNBA Finals series was a hard-fought battle, but the Sun fell to the

in five games. In June 2020, Jones announced that she would forgo the WNBA season due to concerns from the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

. In 2021 Jones returned to the WNBA and led the Sun to the best record in the league; she additionally was averaging a career high in every major statistic before reporting to the FIBA Women's Eurobasket to represent the Bosnian women's national basketball team. When she returned the Sun, the team went back to being the top team in the league and closed out the season with a 14-game winning streak, leading to a record of 26–6 and the best record in the league. Jones averaged a career-high in points and assists, with averages of 19.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks, and was named the 2021 WNBA MVP nearly unanimously. Jones also made WNBA All-Defensive First Team and nearly won the DPOY award. With winning MVP Jones became the first player in WNBA History to win MVP, Sixth Woman of the Year and WNBA Most Improved Player Award. During the offseason prior to the

2023 WNBA season The 2023 WNBA season was the 27th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, repeated as champions after defeating the New York Liberty 3 games to 1 in the Finals. The regular s ...

, Jones requested a trade out of Connecticut and was dealt to the

on January 17, 2023. She was named the MVP of the 2023 Commissioner's Cup, winning it for the New York Liberty with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. In the ensuing 2023 WNBA Playoffs, she confronted and eliminated her former team in the semifinal round, three games to one. In the 2024 season, she was named WNBA Finals MVP after scoring 17 points in the final Game 5 overtime game, in which the Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx 67-62.

Overseas career

During the 2016–17 off-season, Jones signed with Asan Woori Bank Wibee of the

Women's Korean Basketball League The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) (Hangul: 한국여자프로농구) is the premier professional women's basketball league in South Korea. The league was established in 1998. Current clubs See also * Korean Basketball League Ex ...

and won a championship with the team. In October 2017, Jones signed with Shanxi Flame of the

Women's Chinese Basketball Association The Women's Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the WCBA, is the first-tier professional women's basketball league in China. It was established in 2002 as the women's counterpart to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). ...

for the 2017–18 off-season. In August 2018, Jones signed with

of the Russian League. After the February

, she left the Russian team. In 2022, Jones joined the Turkish team

of the

Women's Basketball Super League The Women's Basketball Super League (, KBSL), also known as the ING Women's Basketball Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the top women's professional basketball division of the Turkish women's basketball league system. The league was establ ...

. Jones played for Inner Mongolia of the WCBA in the 2023–2024 season and led them to the finals. For the 2024–2025 season, Jones joined Sichuan Yuanda in the WCBA.

National team career

She made her debut for the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the first round of EuroBasket Women 2021 qualification on 14 November 2019 against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. She claimed a double-double of 29 points and 16 rebounds on what proved to be an agonizing night for Russia coach Alexander Kovalev as he lost his first game at the helm in his hometown of

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

. In a quarter-final loss against France in the

EuroBasket Women 2021 The 2021 European Women Basketball Championship, commonly called EuroBasket Women 2021, was the 38th edition of the continental tournament in women's basketball, sanctioned by the FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Strasbourg, France and Valencia, ...

, she set an all-time record for most rebounds in a single EuroBasket game. She finished the game with 29 points and 24 rebounds, beating the previous record of 21 rebounds shared by three players. She was named to the FIBA EuroBasket Women All-Tournament Team. In October 2022, Goran Lojo, the coach of the team, announced that Jones would no longer be playing for the national team, and that her spot as a naturalized player would in the future be filled by Courtney Hurt.

Personal life

In 2019, Jones got a goldendoodle puppy. In 2023, Jones got engaged to her girlfriend Nesha.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 season'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, 34 , , 6 , , 14.1 , , .531 , , .333 , , .739 , , 3.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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

, 34 , , 34 , , 28.5 , , .534, , .446 , , .818 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 11.9°, , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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

, 34 , , 16 , , 20.5 , , .550, , .467 , , .671 , , 5.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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

, 34 , , 34 , , 28.8 , , .448 , , .309 , , .818 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 9.7° , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.9 , , 14.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2020'' , colspan=13 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play (opted out)'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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

, 27, , 27 , , 31.7 , , .515 , , .362 , , .802 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 11.2° , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , 2.9 , , 19.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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

, 33 , , 32 , , 26.4 , , .513 , , .369 , , .802 , , 8.6 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , 2.6 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 40 , , 40 , , 25.0 , , .527 , , .352 , , .863 , , 8.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 1.3 , , 2.1 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 39 , , 39 , , 29.8 , , .539 , , .391 , , .788 , , 9.0 , , 3.2 , , 0.8 , , 1.3 , , 2.4 , , 14.2 , - class="sortbottom" , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 8 years, 2 teams , 275 , , 228 , , 25.5 , , .517 , , .377 , , .794 , , 8.4 , , 1.9 , , 0.8 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , 13.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;", All-Star , 5 , , 5 , , 22.5 , , .545 , , .417 , , .750 , , 11.2 , , 3.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 18.0

Playoffs

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

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

, 1 , , 1 , , 39.2 , , .385 , , .400 , , .875, , 15.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0, , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 1 , , 1 , , 26.2 , , .667 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 7.0 , , 7.0 , , 0.0, , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 8 , , 8 , , 32.5 , , .528 , , .267 , , .767 , , 10.4 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , 17.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 4 , , 4 , , 35.0 , , .458 , , .444 , , .778 , , 9.8 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 12 , , 12 , , 27.0 , , .507 , , .414 , , .829 , , 8.4 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 10 , , 10 , , 34.7 , , .559 , , .321 , , .787 , , 11.6 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 2.4°, , 2.0 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 32.5 , , .550 , , .448 , , .946 , , 8.2 , , 2.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 2.8 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 7 years, 2 teams , 47 , , 47 , , 31.8 , , .525 , , .364 , , .832 , , 9.6 , , 2.2 , , 0.7 , , 1.4 , , 2.1 , , 16.1

College

, - , style="text-align:center;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:center;", Clemson , 8, , 4, , 29.8, , .483, , .300, , .792, , 10.0, , 0.8, , 0.5, , 2.1, , 2.0, , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:center;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:center;", George Washington , 23, , 23, , 26.3, , .488, , .293, , .639, , 10.9, , 1.7, , 0.8, , 1.9, , 4.1, , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:center;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:center;",

, 30, , 30, , 26.8, , .478, , .306, , .664, , 12.5, , 2.1, , 0.7, , 1.9, , 2.8, , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:center;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:center;",

, 23, , 20, , 29.8, , .417, , .311, , .745, , 14.6, , 2.3, , 1.0, , 3.3, , 4.1, , 16.2 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 84, , 77, , 27.8, , .462, , .304, , .695, , 12.4, , 1.9, , 0.8, , 2.3, , 3.4, , 14.9

References

External links

*
George Washington Colonials bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jonquel 1994 births Living people Bahamian emigrants Bahamian expatriate basketball people in China Bahamian expatriate basketball people in Russia Bahamian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Bahamian expatriate basketball people in the United States Bahamian LGBTQ people Bahamian women's basketball players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Russia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Turkey Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in the United States Bosnia and Herzegovina women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Clemson Tigers women's basketball players Connecticut Sun players George Washington Revolutionaries women's basketball players Immigrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina LGBTQ basketball players Lesbian sportswomen Los Angeles Sparks draft picks Naturalised basketball players Naturalized citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina New York Liberty players People from West Grand Bahama Power forwards Shanxi Flame players Sportspeople from Freeport, Bahamas WNBA All-Stars