Dwight Jones (basketball)
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Born | Houston, Texas, U.S. | February 27, 1952||||||||||||||
Died | July 25, 2016 The Woodlands, Texas, U.S. | (aged 64)||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | Wheatley (Houston, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
College | Houston (1970–1973) | ||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 1973: 1st round, 9th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks | |||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1973–1984 | ||||||||||||||
Position | Power forward / center | ||||||||||||||
Number | 13 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
1973–1976 | Atlanta Hawks | ||||||||||||||
1976–1979 | Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
1979–1983 | Chicago Bulls | ||||||||||||||
1983 | Los Angeles Lakers | ||||||||||||||
1983–1984 | Bic Trieste | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
Points | 6,230 (8.1 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
Rebounds | 4,513 (5.9 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
Assists | 911 (1.2 apg) | ||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Dwight Elmo Jones (February 27, 1952 – July 25, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'10" forward/center, he was the leading scorer and rebounder on the 1972 Olympic team that lost the controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union. Jones was ejected from the gold medal game after an altercation with a Soviet player. Later it was revealed that the Soviets intentionally provoked him as they saw him as the leader of the U.S. team and wanted to get him out.[1][2]
Jones attended E.O. Smith Education Center and Wheatley High School.[3]
After playing college basketball at the University of Houston from 1970–73, Jones was selected as the 9th overall pick in 1973 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Jones played for ten seasons in the NBA from 1973 to 1983 with four teams: Atlanta, the Houston Rockets, the Chicago Bulls, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The 6 ft 10 in power forward/center averaged 8.1 points in 766 career regular season games.
His son, Dwight Jones II, played at Houston Baptist University. A 6'3" guard, Jones II was named the Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2005–06 and 2006–07 while also being named an NAIA All-America both seasons.[4]
Jones died on July 25, 2016.[5]
References
- ^ Gallagher, Taps (2012-08-01). "3 Seconds From Gold: 'Stolen Glory' Recalls Epic 1972 Olympic Basketball Final". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
- ^ "50 stunning Olympic moments: No1 – USA v USSR, basketball final, 1972 | Sean Ingle". the Guardian. 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
- ^ "Distinguished HISD Alumni Archived May 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine," Houston Independent School District
- ^ JONES II TAKEN IN NBA DEVELOPMENTAL LEAGUE DRAFT[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Houston men's basketball great Dwight Jones passes away; Houston native was 64 years old". yourhoustonnews.com. July 25, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Career NCAA stats @ thedraftreview.com
- 1952 births
- 2016 deaths
- American expatriate basketball people in Italy
- American men's basketball players
- Atlanta Hawks draft picks
- Atlanta Hawks players
- Basketball players at the 1971 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games basketball players for the United States
- Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players from Houston
- Centers (basketball)
- Chicago Bulls players
- Houston Cougars men's basketball players
- Houston Rockets players
- Los Angeles Lakers players
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball
- Pallacanestro Trieste players
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- Power forwards
- United States men's national basketball team players
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople
- 21st-century African-American people