K C JONES


Born;
May 25, 1932
Taylor, TX

Enshrined;
May 9, 1989



Selected in the second round of the 1956 NBA Draft, but did not join Boston until 1958 after serving two years in the military

Played nine seasons with the Boston Celtics (1959-67)

Eight NBA championships with Boston Celtics (1959-66)

Led the Celtics in assists in 1964-66

Number 25 jersey was retired by the Celtics

Pro Coaching

NBA Los Angeles Lakers, assistant coach (1971-72)

ABA San Diego Conquistadors (1972-73)

NBA Capital Bullets (1973-74)

NBA Washington Bullets (1974-76)

NBA Milwaukee Bucks, assistant coach (1976-77)

NBA Boston Celtics, assistant coach (1978-79, 1982-83, 1996-97)

NBA Boston Celtics, head coach (1983-88)

NBA Seattle Supersonics, assistant coach (1989-90)

NBA Seattle Supersonics, head coach (1990-92)

NBA Detroit Pistons, assistant coach (1994-95)

ABL New England Blizzard (1997-99)



Success is no stranger to K.C. Jones. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a basketball personality who has been more successful than Jones. A hard-nosed playmaking guard and defensive specialist, Jones enjoyed a phenomenal collegiate career playing with Bill Russell and for Hall of Fame coach Phil Woolpert. As a ball-hawking guard at the University of San Francisco, Jones and the Dons won 57 of 58 games and won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956. The success continued as a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic gold medal team before serving two years in the U.S. Army. After the Army, Jones rejoined Russell with the Boston Celtics. Dressed in green and white — also the colors of USF — Jones played admirably on eight consecutive NBA championship teams (1958-66), making a huge impact as a scrapping defensive player. Jones retired after nine seasons and became the head coach at Brandeis University (1967-71). In 1971, the pro game beckoned and Jones became assistant coach to former teammate Bill Sharman with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers captured the 1971-72 NBA crown and Jones earned his first head-coaching job with the ABA's San Diego Conquistadors.

After one season with San Diego, Jones joined the NBA as head coach of the Capital/Washington Bullets (1973-76), leading them to the NBA finals in 1975. After one season as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach, Jones returned to Boston as an assistant from 1978 to 1983 and was named head coach in 1983. K.C. added to his championship ring total (12 in total) by guiding Boston to the 1984 and 1986 titles. In five seasons with Boston, Jones compiled a 308-102 record, a .751 winning percentage. In each of those seasons, the Celtics won the Atlantic Division title. In 1986, Jones was elected to the Bay Area Hall of Fame and the Celtics retired his number 25 jersey









February 12, 1967