The Celtics announced that 10-time NBA champion Sam Jones died Thursday evening in Florida. He was 88 years old.
Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss told the Associated Press that Jones had recently been hospitalized due to his failing health. The team paid tribute to Jones with a moment of silence before Friday's game against the Suns.
Known for his clutch scoring ability, the Celtics drafted Jones with the eighth pick in the 1956 NBA draft out of North Carolina Central. He played 12 years—from '57 to '69—as part of a Boston dynasty.
“You look at the championships and what he did, it’s obviously a big loss for the community here,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said Friday.
During his career, Jones won 10 NBA titles, including eight alongside Bill Russell—the second most of any player in NBA history. He averaged 17.7 points and nearly five rebounds per game. In the 1964–65 season, Jones led the league in scoring with 25.9 points per game.
Walter Iooss Jr.
Jones's No. 24 jersey was retired in the rafters of Boston Garden, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
He is also a member of the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and earned a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team that was announced earlier this year.
"Sam Jones will be remembered as one of the most prolific champions in all of professional sports," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Friday.
