K. C. Jones

For the football player, see K. C. Jones (American football).

K. C. Jones

No. 27, 25
Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth	May 25, 1932 (1932-05-25)
Place of birth	Taylor, Texas
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College	San Francisco (1952–1956)
NBA Draft	1956 / Round: 2 / Pick: 14th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	1958–1967
Career history
As player:
1958–1967	Boston Celtics
As coach:
1972–1973	San Diego Conquistadors (ABA)
1973–1976	Capital / Washington Bullets
1983–1988	Boston Celtics
1990–1992	Seattle SuperSonics
Career highlights and awards
As Player: 8× NBA Champion (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966) 2× NCAA Champion (1955, 1956) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1956) #25 Retired by the Boston Celtics As Coach: 2× NBA Champion (1984, 1986)
Career statistics
Points	5,011 (7.4 ppg)
Rebounds	2,399 (3.5 rpg)
Assists	2,908 (4.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals Men's basketball Competitor for the United States Olympic Games Gold 1956 Melbourne National team

K. C. Jones (born May 25, 1932 in Taylor, Texas) is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. K. C. Jones is his full name.

Playing career

Jones played college basketball at the University of San Francisco and, along with Bill Russell, led the Dons to two NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. Jones also played with Russell on the 1956 United States men's Olympic basketball team, which won the gold medal at the Melbourne Summer Games. During his playing days, he was known as a tenacious defender. Jones spent all of his nine seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, being part of eight championship teams from 1959 to 1966. In NBA history, only teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones have won more championship rings during their playing careers. After Boston lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967 playoffs, Jones ended his playing career.

Hall of Fame legacy

K.C. Jones was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989. Prior to the Doc Rivers-coached Celtics championship of 2008, he was the last African-American head coach to have led a team to the NBA Championship (1986). Ironically, his 1986 Celtics are also the last NBA champion to have a majority of Caucasian players on their roster (and a majority in their starting lineup). Jones is the only African American coach to win multiple NBA championships solely as a head coach. (Bill Russell also won two titles as head coach, but he was also doubling as a player.) Also in 1986, Jones led the Eastern squad in the 1986 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas at the Reunion Arena beating the Western squad 139-132.

Coaching career

Jones began his coaching career at Brandeis University, serving as the head coach from 1967–1970. Jones then reunited with former teammate Bill Sharman as the assistant coach for the 1971–72 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers during the season the team won a record 33 straight games. The following season, Jones became the first coach of the San Diego Conquistadors, an American Basketball Association franchise which would have a very short life. A year later, in 1973 he became head coach of the Capital Bullets (which became the Washington Bullets one year later), coaching them for three seasons and leading them to the NBA Finals in 1975.

In 1983, he took over as head coach of the Boston Celtics, replacing Bill Fitch. Jones guided the Larry Bird-led Celtics to a championship in 1984 and 1986. The Celtics won the Atlantic Division in all five of Jones's seasons as head coach and reached the NBA Finals in 4 of his 5 years as coach. He briefly coached the Seattle SuperSonics in 1990 and 1991 as well.

In 1994, Jones joined the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach for one season. The Pistons head coach at that time, Don Chaney, had previously played for Jones with the Celtics.

Jones returned to the professional coaching ranks in 1997, guiding the New England Blizzard of the fledgling women's American Basketball League (1996–1998) through its last 1½ seasons of existence. The Blizzard made the playoffs in Year 2, but they were summarily dispatched by the San Jose Lasers.

Life after the NBA

Today, Jones works for the University of Hartford Athletic Office and does the color commentary for the University of Hartford Men's Basketball.

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss  %
Post season	PG	Playoff Games	PW	Playoff Wins	PL	Playoff Losses	PW–L %	Playoff Win-loss  %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
CAP	1973–74	82	47	35	.573	1st in Central	7	3	4	.429	Lost in Conference Semifinals
WSB	1974–75	82	60	22	.732	1st in Central	17	8	9	.471	Lost in NBA Finals
WSB	1975–76	82	48	34	.585	2nd in Central	7	3	4	.429	Lost in Conference Semifinals
BOS	1983–84	82	62	20	.756	1st in Atlantic	23	15	8	.652	Won NBA Championship
BOS	1984–85	82	63	19	.768	1st in Atlantic	21	13	8	.619	Lost in NBA Finals
BOS	1985–86	82	67	15	.817	1st in Atlantic	18	15	3	.833	Won NBA Championship
BOS	1986–87	82	59	23	.720	1st in Atlantic	23	13	10	.565	Lost in NBA Finals
BOS	1987–88	82	57	25	.695	1st in Atlantic	17	9	8	.529	Lost in Conference Finals
SEA	1990–91	82	41	41	.500	5th in Pacific	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
SEA	1991–92	36	18	18	.500	(fired)	—	—	—	—	—
Career		774	522	252	.674		138	81	57	.587

External links

• Basketball Hall of Fame: K.C. Jones
• BasketballReference.com: K.C. Jones (as coach)
• BasketballReference.com: K.C. Jones (as player)
• NBA.com K.C. Jones Bio