Jones was the 14th pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. He was drafted by Isiah Thomas. He played sparingly as a rookie, averaging only 1.2 points per game in 19 appearances while playing behind Reggie Miller. That scoring average increased to nearly 5 points per game in his second year while appearing in 81 games. He more than doubled his averages during the 2004–05 season (to 10.6 ppg), partly due to teammate and small forward Ron Artest being suspended for the season for his involvement in The Malice at The Palace incident. In his first start after the incident, Jones scored a career-high 31 points against the Orlando Magic, establishing himself as one of the team's primary scoring weapons.