17.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 46 FG%, 80 FT%
“Called “Mr. Clutch” by many of his peers, Sam Jones was one of the linchpins of the fabulous Boston juggernaut of the 1950s and 1960s. His uncannily accurate bank shots, lightning quickness, and cool demeanor helped the Celtics win 10 NBA Championships in the 12 years he played with the team. During his career Jones racked up 15,411 points at a 17.7 points per game clip, and shot .803 from the free-throw line. Selected to the All-NBA Second Team three times and an All-Star five times, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
His longtime coach, Red Auerbach, was one of his greatest fans. Jones’s special attributes as a player, Auerbach once explained, were his speed, touch, reflexes, and attitude. But there was another quality that made him a standout: dedication. “He’ll do anything you ask him,” said Auerbach. “He’s always in shape and ready to play, and nobody works any harder at basketball than he does.”
The story goes that no college players in the 1957 rookie crop thrilled Auerbach. But needing to make a choice before the draft meeting, he relied on the judgment of a college coach who had seen Jones play. (Auerbach usually considered only players that he had personally scouted twice.) Auerbach surprised everyone by selecting North Carolina Central’s Jones, an unknown player from an unknown college, as his No. 1 draft pick (the eighth pick overall).
Jones, oddly enough, was devastated. Although he was willing to give pro basketball a try, he didn’t think he had a prayer of making the Celtics, who had just finished a championship season and had 11 returning veterans — another team, perhaps, but not Boston.” [Read]
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[Sources: NBA.com, YouTube, Basketball-Reference.com]
