Bobby Jones (basketball player, 1951)

This article covers the basketball player born in 1951. For the basketball player born in 1984, see Bobby Jones (basketball player, 1984)

Bobby Jones
Player information
Full name	Robert Clyde Jones
birthday	18th December 1951 (age 68)
place of birth	Charlotte , North Carolina , USA
size	206 cm
position	Power forward
college	North Carolina
NBA draft	1974 , 5th pick, Houston Rockets
Clubs as active
1974–1978 Denver Nuggets 1978–1986 Philadelphia 76ers
National team
000 0 1972	United States	9 games

Robert Clyde "Bobby" Jones (born December 18, 1951 in Charlotte , North Carolina ) is a retired American basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. The 2.06 meter tall Jones was considered one of the best defensive players of his generation. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2019 .

Career

Bobby Jones was a star player at the University of North Carolina , where he scored 14 points and nine assists per game. In the 1972 Olympic Games he played in the US team’s Olympic basketball final against the Soviet Union, in which the referees repeated the last three seconds three times when the score was 50:49 for the US and the Soviets won in the last second by 51:50 . Jones stayed the silver medal.

At that time there were two competing professional leagues in the USA; the established National Basketball Association and the new American Basketball Association . The small but player-friendly ABA was the alternative to the reactionary, reform-reluctant NBA at the time, which viewed the players as property. Although Jones was selected first by the Houston Rockets in the 1974 NBA Draft , he turned down that offer and instead joined the ABA's Denver Nuggets . There he became a star by scoring 15 points and 6 rebounds per game and impressing with his high throw rate of 60% and his hard defensive work. Jones was considered one of the few players who could stop superstar Julius Erving , and was instrumental in ensuring that the Nuggets reached the semifinals and final in their two ABA years.

The ABA disbanded in the following time and the Nuggets played in the NBA from then on. Jones continued his reputation as a reliable team player and was elected to the all-defensive team eight times in a row . In 1978 Jones was transferred to the Philadelphia 76ers , where he was initially a banker behind his former rival Erving. After the Sixers failed again and again at either the Los Angeles Lakers for Magic Johnson or the Boston Celtics for Larry Bird , the Sixers acquired the strong offensive center Moses Malone in 1982 . In addition, coach Billy Cunningham decided to use Jones as a noble joker (" Sixth Man "), as Jones worked better than the actual substitute Marc Iavaroni when he came from the bank . Jones played the role so well that he was named Best Substitute for the NBA ( Sixth Man of the Year ). The Sixers won the title in an impressive way in 1983 by beating the Lakers 4-0 in the final.

Jones played with the Sixers until 1986 when he announced his departure at the age of 35. As a thank you for his services, the Sixers withdrew his jersey number 24 and have not given it to other players since.

Personal

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

After his professional career, Jones returned to Charlotte and devoted himself to coaching at the Charlotte Christian School, where he later became sports director. Jones also joined the Epilepsy Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In the new millennium he founded the charitable organization 2xsalt ( exalt , “to stand out”), which works for socially disadvantaged children.

Jones is known for his deeply religious lifestyle. When asked how he would combine Christianity and sporting hardship, he replied: “God gives everyone a talent. It would be a sin not to exploit this talent 100%. ”Despite his hard defensive work, he was known for his principles as a very fair player who in principle neither played unfairly, committed dirty fouls, nor cursed. He also refused tobacco and alcohol and encouraged his colleagues to do the same.

Web links

• Bobby Jones (basketball player, 1951) - player profile on basketball-reference.com (English)
• ABA article on Bobby Jones
• NBA article on Bobby Jones
• 2xsalt.org, Bobby Jones' charitable organization

Individual evidence

1. ↑ usabasketball.com - All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster // J ( Memento from January 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
2. ^ The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Bobby Jones. In: hoophall.com. Retrieved July 4, 2020 .