Sam Jones (00:31)Played some small forward & point guard but mostly played shooting guardBorn in Wilmington, NC on June 24, 1933Went to a historic African American prep school called Laurinburg InstituteAttended a small HBCU school NC College which became NC Central University laterWas a 3 times All-CIAA; coached by Hall of Fame coach John McClendon & Floyd BrownSpent 4 years there as well as 2 years in the militaryWas initially drafted by Minneapolis Lakers in the 1956 draft during the 8th round but chose to go back to college to get his degree after finishing his military serviceEnter Red Auerbach, the BOS coach who was looking to draft a player in the upcoming 1957 draftRed visited University of NC but was told by another coach about Sam & how good he wasSo sight unseen, Red drafted Sam 8th overall of that draftThis shocked Sam to be drafted by a team that had just won a NBA title & just returned 11 of their playersWanted to become a HS teacher after college & thought he was closer to that dream after being selected by BOSIn fact Sam had an offer from one HS to teach; asked for a $500 increase when offered the position; the school refused & as they say the rest was historyHis rookie season was anything but spectacular; averaged only 4.6 PPG & 10.6 MIN & was the 3rd SG behind Bill Sharman & Frank RamseyRed was actually preparing Sam to be the heir apparent to Bill Sharman as the team's starting SGIn his next 2 seasons he played SF coming off the bench with the young KC Jones to form the alliance of the Jones BoysRed decided to move Ramsey to SF which opened the door for Sam to get closer to being the starting SG in futureHis big break came in 1960-61 when Sharman had to sit due to injuriesWhile not entirely comfortable being a starter, he began to adjust nicely with a 15 PPG average in his debut as the team's lead SGIn his next 3 seasons he settled into being the position & started becoming a clutch performer, particularly in the playoffsin 1961-62 where he became an All Star for the 1st time, BOS played PHW to a grueling 7 games in the Eastern Divisional Finals where he hit a game winner over Wilt Chamberlain (Wilt declared Sam as BOS' best player)Against LAL in the Finals, he scored 5 of the team's 10 pts in OT of Game 7 in the finals to win their 4th straight NBA titleIn 1962-63 he averaged 19.7 PPG & a career best 47.6 FG% while upping his game in the playoffs with a 23.8 PPG to help win their 5th straight titleHad his career year in 1964-65 averaging 25.9 PPG (4th in the league) while making his 3rd All Star game; also named to the All-NBA 2nd team for the 1st time (behind 1st teamers Oscar Robertson & Jerry West)BOS finished that season 62-18; had his greatest postseason ever with 28.6 PPG to lead them to their 7th straight titleWould play another 4 seasons; appearing in 2 more All Star games & won 3 of 4 NBA titles in those yearsIn his final game fittingly so, he hit the clinching basket for Game 7 in the Finals to beat a Elgin Baylor-Jerry West-Wilt Chamberlain led LAL squad to win his 10th NBA title for BOSRetired from basketball in 1969 at the age of 36Inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame, North Carolina Sports HoF (the 1st African-American to be honored), Naismith HoF & the inaugural American Basketball HoFNamed to the 25th, 50th & 75th NBA Anniversary TeamsDid become a substitute teacher in Maryland for over 30 yearsRetired from teaching & moved to St Augustine, FL; died in Boca Raton, FL at the age of 88 on Dec 31, 2021Statements from the BOS organization, NBA commission Adam Silver & good friend Bill Russell came in honoring SamNickname: Mr Clutch, The Shooter

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