KC Jones, who was a winning character as a hard point guard and then coach at the Boston Celtics during his Hall of Fame career, has died, the Celtics confirmed Friday. He was 88.
Jones was nicknamed KC, although some ridiculed the “C” standing for competitions. It was easy to see why.
He played nine seasons in the NBA, all with the Celtics, and won titles in eight of them – the third-largest in league history, behind just long-time team players Bill Russell (11) and Sam Jones (10) . That success continued into his coaching days, when he won three titles (one as a coach, two as a head coach) when Boston succeeded in the 1980s with Larry Bird & Co.
Jones didn’t flash, and his playing days weren’t full of stat lines; on average just 7.4 points in his career. But the 6-foot-1 guard was the consummate team’s player who defended opposition stars like Jerry West and Oscar Robertson and made his gameplay go Celtics engine.
” I haven’t seen how a man who shot as badly as a KC could stay in the NBA, ” recalled Bob Cousy, the famous Celtics point guard whom Jones first backed and then replaced when “Cooz” retired in 1963. ” I didn’t think his other skills would be enough to keep him around. But I was wrong. The man turned out to be amazing on defense and eventually learned enough score to not be able to compete teams without his defense. ”
Jones was part of teams that won a title with the Celtics from 1959 to ’66, running an unparalleled eight years in pro sports. 1966-67 was the only season he did not win a competition, and Jones, at the age of 34, retired shortly afterwards.
But Jones remained in the game, first as a coach at Brandeis University outside Boston and then as an assistant or head coach in the NBA or ABA before returning to the Celtics as a supporter under Bill Fitch in 1977. Fitch left the team for four years. later, and was replaced by Jones, owning a group led by Bird and his fellow Hall of Famers Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Three weeks after Jones took office, the Celtics made a move to get Dennis Johnson.
Together, they reached the NBA Finals four straight seasons (1984-87), winning titles in 1984 and ’86. Some criticized Jones’ style, but his players welcomed him.
“He gets our respect as a coach and as a man,” Bird once said.
Jones left the Celtics bench after the 1987 season, moving into the Celtics headquarters before ending his career with coaching shoes in Seattle and Detroit.
His number 25 has retired with the Celtics, and he was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989.
Jones was born in Texas, along with Russell at the University of San Francisco, earning back NCAA titles in 1955 and ’56. The summer after the second title, the two teams led the U.S. to a gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics.
To date, Jones is just one of seven players to have won college and NBA basketball titles as well as Olympic gold, joining Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner and Clyde. Lovellette.