# Jimmy Jones (basketball)

James Jones (born January 1, 1945) 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.
A 6'4" guard born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Jones attended Grambling State University.

## Playing career

Jones was drafted by the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Baltimore Bullets in 1967. Jones was also drafted by the New Orleans Buccaneers in the 1967 ABA Draft.
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. Jones finally joined the Bullets franchise in 1974, appearing in three seasons before retiring in 1977.

## ABA and NBA career statistics

| 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 | 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 | 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. In 2013, he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.