Bobby Jones
From Hoopedia
Robert Clyde "Bobby" Jones (born December 18, 1951, in Charlotte, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Jones was known for his outstanding defensive play, earning him eleven All-Defensive team selections, including eight 8 on the First Team, a feat only matched by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Gary Payton. A defensive guru and thinking man's basketball player. A good leaper, Bobby used good foot-work and shrewd on-court anticipation to get strategic defensive positioning. Jones often was a step ahead of his opponent which gave him the upper hand and caused the offensive player to be off-balance. He began his career with the Denver Nuggets of the ABA in 1974, where he played until 1978, the last two years already in the NBA. He joined the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, where he played until 1986. In his career, he averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds per game. He was a career 56% shooter from the field.
He was a member of the 1983 NBA Champion Sixers team with Hall-of-Famers Julius Erving and Moses Malone. A Philadelphia Inquirer article on Jones at the time paraphrased the famous John Havlicek call by Johnny Most stating, "Bobby Jones stole the ball. It was grand larceny. Bobby Jones stole the ball and robbed the Milwaukee Bucks of a game, turning an almost-sure upset into a 111-109 overtime victory for the 76ers."
During his career, Jones played in one ABA All-Star Game and four NBA All-Star Games. He led the ABA in field goal percentage twice, and led the NBA in field goal percentage during the 1977-78 season. In 1983, Jones was selected as the very first NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Jones was also a member of the USA men's basketball team which lost a controversial decision to the USSR in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
In 2003, Jones cofounded a Charlotte, North Carolina based religiously affiliated non-profit, 2xsalt, that supports underprivileged youth through sports, along with Bart Kofoed and Basketball Hall of Famer David Thompson.
