Happy 74th Birthday, Bobby Jones
- Jake C
- Dec 18
- 5 min read
Cover photo: Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Bobby Jones drives against the Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird during Game 5 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals at the Boston Garden in Boston, Mass. Photo credit: Dick Raphael, NBAE, Getty Images.
An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Dec. 18 as 5-time NBA All-Star and 8-time 1st team All-Defensive forward Bobby Jones turns 74.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Jones attended high school at South Mecklenburg in Charlotte, N.C., where he won the state championship in the high jump as a sophomore and senior.
Jones played three seasons (1971-74) at the University of North Carolina and led the NCAA in games played as a junior (33). In his senior season, he averaged 16.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, earning 2nd team All-American honors. In 92 career games as a Tar Heel, Jones averaged 13.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
In the 1974 NBA Draft, Jones was drafted fifth overall in a draft that saw Bill Walton drafted first overall, Jamaal Wilkes 11th, Maurice Lucas 14th, and George Gervin 40th overall.
The ABA’s Carolina Cougars owned Jones’ draft rights, and traded Jones to the Denver Nuggets for forward Marvin Barnes, who was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.
As an ABA rookie, Jones led the ABA in field-goal percentage (60.4%) and games played (84). He made the All-Defensive 1st team, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, and was fourth in MVP voting. For the season in 32.2 minutes per game, he averaged 14.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game. With the ABA’s top-ranked offense (118.7 points per game), the Nuggets went 65-19 and won the Western Division Semifinals over the Utah Jazz 4-2, and lost the Western Division Finals to the Indiana Pacers in seven games.
In the last ABA season (1975-76) before the merger, Jones was again 1st team All-Defense, and finished second in MVP voting. In 83 games, 34.3 minutes per game, he shot 58.1% from the field (again leading the ABA) with 14.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 2.0 steals. Those Nuggets won 60 games and defeated the Kentucky Colonels in seven games in the ABA Semifinals, before losing in six games in the ABA Finals to the New York Nets. In the Finals’ series, Jones averaged 15.0 points (56.3%), 8.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 32.8 minutes.
Jones was an All-Star in each of his first two NBA seasons.
Bobby Jones’ All-Star Seasons: 1976-77 and 1977-78
1976-77: 15.1 points (57.0% FG, 10.7 FGA), 8.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 steals, 2.0 blocks, 29.5 minutes, 82 games, 1st team All-Defense.
The 76-77 Nuggets won 50 games and lost in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Portland Trail Blazers. Jones in 31.2 minutes per game in the series averaged 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.8 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game.
1977-78: 14.5 points (57.8% FG, 10.1 FGA), 8.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.7 blocks, 32.5 minutes, 75 games, 1st team All-Defense.
The 77-78 Nuggets finished with a 48-34 mark, and made the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Finals, the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Nuggets in six games. Jones averaged 14.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game against the Bucks, and 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game in the Finals.
In the summer of 1978, the 76ers acquired Jones for forward George McGinnis, who at the time was a 5-time All-Star between both the ABA and NBA. McGinnis would go on, like Jones, to the Naismith Hall of Fame.
Jones played 80 and 81 games in his first two seasons as a Sixer, averaging 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game (28.8 minutes) and 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game (26.2 minutes). In both seasons, he made the All-Defensive 1st team.
For the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons, Jones was an All-Star.
Bobby Jones’ All-Star Seasons: 1980-81 and 1981-82
1980-81: 13.5 points (53.9% FG, 9.3 FGA), 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 25.3 minutes, 81 games, 1st team All-Defense
1981-82: 14.4 points (56.4% FG, 9.7 FGA), 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.3 steals, 28.7 minutes, 76 games, 1st team All-Defense
Jones was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 1982-83 season. In that campaign, he posted averages of 9.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game in 23.6 minutes per game. Jones finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and made the All-Defensive 1st team.
The Sixers went 65-17 and swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. On their way there, Philadelphia swept the New York Knicks in the first round, and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the Conference Finals. In 26.8 minutes per game in the Finals, Jones averaged 12.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 2.0 steals.
Jones made his final two All-Defensive teams in 1983-84 (1st team) and 1984-85 (2nd team). With season numbers in 1983-84 of 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 23.5 minutes (75 games), Jones finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting and was fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. In his next-to-last season of 1984-85, he finished sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting, turning in 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game in 20.4 minutes per game (80 games). Jones played 70 games in his final NBA season of 1985-86, putting up 7.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game.
In 12 seasons between the ABA and NBA, Jones registered 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game in 941 games, averaging 56.0% from the field (8.5 shots). He played in 324 games with Denver (32.1 minutes per game) and averaged 14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game. With the Sixers, he posted averages of 10.7 points (54.2% on 7.4 shots), 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game. His NBA stats in 774 games (26.1 minutes per game) were 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game.
Jones’ 11 total All-Defensive Team selections are tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the third most in NBA history. Only Tim Duncan (15), Kobe Bryant (12), and Kevin Garnett (12) earned more than Jones. “The Secretary of Defense” at 6 foot, 9 inches and 210 pounds was an athletic, versatile defender who was a major piece to the contending 76er teams of the early 1980s, especially the 1983 championship team. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
A member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, Jones was termed by former 76ers’ star Erving as “my Vice President”. Former Sixers’ General Manager Pat Williams said at one time of Jones:
“With Bobby, there has always been an absolute, rock-solid consistency. He was the ultimate team guy.”
You can’t get a higher compliment than that.
Happy 74th, Bobby Jones.
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