Allexus KillianWhen evaluating a league great, you often look at their personality, championships, statistics and ability to be clutch on the highest stage. Boston Celtics shooting guard and N.C. Central alumnus Samuel Jones had all those things.
Also known as “Mr. Clutch” and “The Shooter,” Jones played all his 12 years with the Celtics.
He was a 10-time NBA Champion, with Bill Russell being the only player to have more, and a 5-time NBA All-Star. He retired from the league in 1969 and was later inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1984.
NCCU’s archivist and instructor of public history, Andre Vann, described Jones as an “innovator” on the court.
“I think that’s what does not get a lot of credit,” Vann said. “You can be a great basketball player all day long, but if you don’t know how to be a team player, it doesn’t mean a thing at all.”
The NBA Champion was born in Wilmington on June 24, 1933. He graduated from the Laurinburg Institute, an African American preparatory school in North Carolina.
Jones became an Eagle in 1951. Under Hall of Fame coach John McLendon, he amassed 1,770 points and made three All-Conference teams in his four seasons. His number, 41, was retired on March 5, 2015, at NCCU’s McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Vann knew the Jones family and was on the committee for retiring his NCCU number.
“I think the greatest contribution of the life and work of Sam Jones is that through his life and through his work and through the sport of basketball, he was able to show that one could rise from very humble beginnings and then reside at a level of excellence unseen by anyone,” Vann said.
The Minneapolis Lakers drafted Jones 59th overall in the 1956 NBA Draft, but he chose to go back to school for one more year.
However, in the spring of 1957, the Celtics selected him as the eighth overall pick. In his 12-year career, he accumulated 15,411 points, 4,305 rebounds and 2,209 assists.
From his rookie season to beyond, “The Shooter’s” role on the team increased significantly. He averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 871 regular-season games.
Jones showed up even more during the playoffs, averaging 18.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 154 games. He made some of his biggest shots in the postseason, earning him the nickname, “Mr. Clutch.”
A couple of his most renowned shots would be game-winning buzzer-beaters. In game 7 of the 1962 Eastern Division Finals, his game-winner propelled the Celtics over the Philadelphia Warriors 109-107. Jones’ late-game theatrics returned when he hit a game-winner against the Lakers in game 4 of the 1969 NBA Finals, tying the series 2-2.
Michael Jones, Samuel’s third child, admitted that he didn’t know the gravity of what his father had accomplished until he got older.
“The most notable skill on the court was his bank shot and being known for being a clutch player,” he said.
The Celtics honored Jones by retiring his jersey number, 24, on March 9, 1969. The ceremony occurred before a match with the San Francisco Warriors, in which he scored 16 points. This Sunday marked Jones’s 56th anniversary.
He became the first Black athlete to be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1969 and the NCCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984.
Vann said Jones’s path to the NBA and how he dealt with things his white counterparts didn’t have to worry about separates him from others in his era.
“He had to think about segregation,” he said. “That could have possibly excelled him to want to rise above this bubble that people put over the lives of African Americans.”
Vann also said he believes Jones is a role model for students who know the power of commitment, listening well and not allowing outside noise to deter focus. He then mentioned that Jones loved African American art, especially the work of Ernie Barnes, the first professional football player to become an artist.
Outside of sports, Jones started a family. He was married to Gladys Chavis and had five children: Aubre, Michael, Ashley, Phyllis and Terri.
On Dec. 30, 2021, Jones passed away at 88 in Florida, but as far as his children are concerned, his legacy and accomplishments will live forever.
“The legacy is being kept alive because between all his teammates that played with him, we all stay close,” Michael said. “We started a group, and we’re getting ready to start a website about all the players’ siblings or children that are a part of the first banner of retired numbers that went up in Celtic history.”
Also, the film “10 Rings” is currently in the works to honor “Mr. Clutch’s” life, career and legacy.
The documentary, which Michael Whaley will produce and direct, will feature archival footage and photos of Jones and interviews with his teammates, family and a few Boston sports journalists. Their testimony will illustrate who Sam Jones was and everything he overcame to become a champion.
“As a human, when you met him, he was probably one of the most genuine persons you will ever meet,” Vann said. “He was just a well-rounded individual not just as an athlete, but as a human being.”
