Jimmy Jones (basketball)

James Jones (born January 1, 1945)^[1] is an American former professional basketball player who was a six-time All-Star in the American Basketball Association (ABA), one of only four players to be named an ABA All-Star six times in its nine-year history.

Jimmy Jones

Personal information
Born	(1945-01-01) January 1, 1945 (age 80) Tallulah, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school	McCall (Tallulah, Louisiana)
College	Grambling State (1963–1967)
NBA draft	1967: 2nd round, 13th overall pick
Drafted by	Baltimore Bullets
Playing career	1967–1977
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
Number	15
Career history
1967–1971	New Orleans Buccaneers / Memphis Pros
1971–1974	Utah Stars
1974–1977	Washington Bullets
Career highlights
6× ABA All-Star (1968–1971, 1973, 1974) 3× All-ABA First Team (1969, 1973, 1974) ABA All-Rookie First Team (1968) ABA All-Time Team
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points	11,366 (16.3 ppg)
Rebounds	2,930 (4.6 rpg)
Assists	3,069 (4.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

A 6'4" guard born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Jones attended Grambling State University.^[1]

Playing career

Jones was drafted by the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Baltimore Bullets in 1967.^[1] Jones was also drafted by the New Orleans Buccaneers in the 1967 ABA Draft. He signed for a three-year contract of $75,000 and a new car.^[1][2]

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 New Orleans Buccaneers/Memphis Pros 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.^[3]

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

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

Bold	Denotes career highs

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1967–68	New Orleans (ABA)	78	–	41.7	.467	.222	.709	5.7	2.3	–	–	18.8
1968–69	New Orleans (ABA)	77	–	41.4	.535*	.143	.805	5.7	5.7	–	–	26.6
1969–70	New Orleans (ABA)	70	–	35.9	.497	.000	.810	4.5	4.9	–	–	20.7
1970–71	Memphis (ABA)	80	–	37.6	.486	.571	.778	4.8	5.9	–	–	19.6
1971–72	Utah (ABA)	78	–	37.2	.512	.167	.779	4.8	6.2	–	–	15.5
1972–73	Utah (ABA)	80	–	35.6	.523	.000	.799	4.2	5.6	–	–	16.7
1973–74	Utah (ABA)	83	–	38.1	.550	.000	.884*	4.3	5.2	1.9	0.4	16.8
1974–75	Washington	73	–	19.5	.518	–	.725	5.2	1.9	1.0	0.1	7.1
1975–76	Washington	64	–	17.7	.497	–	.766	2.0	1.9	0.5	0.1	5.9
1976–77	Washington	3	–	11.0	.333	–	.500	1.3	0.3	0.7	0.0	2.0
Career		686	–	34.2	.509	.250	.785	4.3	4.5	1.2	0.2	16.6

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1968	New Orleans (ABA)	17	–	46.2	.457	.000	.737	6.9	3.3	–	–	22.1
1969	New Orleans (ABA)	11	–	40.5	.552	.000	.761	5.3	5.4	–	–	30.2
1971	Memphis (ABA)	4	–	32.5	.500	–	.680	6.0	3.8	–	–	16.3
1972	Utah (ABA)	11	–	39.5	.541	–	.714	4.0	6.3	–	–	21.0
1973	Utah (ABA)	10	–	31.6	.492	–	.795	4.1	4.3	–	–	16.3
1974	Utah (ABA)	18	–	41.2	.577	.000	.776	4.8	5.4	1.5	0.3	20.8
1975	Washington	11	–	18.7	.453	–	.909	2.0	1.9	1.5	0.1	6.2
1976	Washington	7	–	23.6	.489	–	.857	2.0	2.4	1.4	0.0	8.9
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.^[4] In 2013, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.^[5]