Sam Jones won 10 NBA championships, more than anyone in history except for Bill Russell. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. He was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996. He scored more than 15,000 points in his 12 seasons with the Boston Celtics (1957-69), carving a reputation as one of the greatest clutch shooters -- and winners -- that the league has ever seen.Yet despite his legendary career, he can walk through a shopping mall or a downtown hotel lobby today without being recognized, arguably the most under-exposed great in basketball history.
Jones, 76, sat down with FanHouse earlier this week to discuss a variety of topics, ranging from his strange disconnect with the franchise he represented so well, to the racism that drove him out of coaching in the early '70s, to his sometimes unflattering view of today's NBA stars.
His opinions might surprise you.
FanHouse: Can anyone ever again do what your Celtics did, win 10 NBA titles in a 12-year span?
Sam Jones: "No. I don't want to say there's too much money, but today's players just aren't as hungry. In our day, winning games, winning in the playoffs, meant extra money for our families. We had kids to send to college. We needed the money. Winning really meant something. When these players today are making $12-15 million a year, they don't have the incentive. They aren't as hungry. They don't need to be.
FanHouse: Does the money today make your head spin?
Sam Jones: "It boggles my mind to think any player today is worth over $10 million a year, regardless of how good he is -- unless he can win a championship every year. Then they certainly would deserve it. But when you have 3-4 guys on a team making $10 million each, my gosh. ... They hurt a little finger and they have to sit out 4-5 days. It's awful. A lot of players are jealous of each other (because of the money), and that's not a way to have a really good team.''
FanHouse: What kind of team chemistry did your Celtics have?
Sam Jones: "We've always said we had the best team ever to play basketball, including the Michael Jordan teams in Chicago, the David Robinson teams in San Antonio, the Isiah Thomas teams in Detroit. I always felt no one had a better coach than Red Auerbach. We believed in what he was trying to teach us. Evidently it worked. We won year after year after year. Even when we got older, we won. We had a closeness that teams today don't have.
"It's a new regime, new owners, new management. People ask me why I never go back. I tell them, 'I don't go places where I'm not invited to go.' "
- Sam Jones, on not maintaining Celtics ties FanHouse: Do you like today's Celtics?
Sam Jones: "I love 'em. The addition of Rasheed Wallace is going to help. If they stay healthy, they'll win another world championship. I thought they would have won last season if Kevin Garnett had not been hurt.''
FanHouse: Who else do you like to watch play?
Sam Jones: "I like the teams that play like teams. I like watching San Antonio. They play great team ball. Detroit used to do that before they broke up that group. Certain teams I like because they're not about individuals. It's about everyone who contributes to that team.''
FanHouse: How much money did you make in the NBA?
Sam Jones: "That's personal. Look it up, if you want, but I made $7,500 that first season (1959-60) with a $1,500 bonus. That was a lot of money back then."
FanHouse: Have you stayed in touch with the Boston franchise?
Sam Jones: "I've stayed in touch with a few people I played with."
FanHouse: You ever go to see the Celtics play?
Sam Jones: "No. It's a new regime, new owners, new management. People ask me why I never go back. I tell them, `I don't go places where I'm not invited to go.' I won't push myself on anyone. It doesn't bother me at all. You work for someone, and when you're finished, you're finished.''
FanHouse: What about when they retired your jersey? You were there then, weren't you?
Sam Jones: "That's different. Red was still involved. I came because Red asked me. Red could get anyone to come back."
FanHouse: When I saw you last spring in Orlando, you came to watch the Celtics play the Magic. Why?
Sam Jones: "I live close by. That was first time I saw them play live since Robert Parish played for them. I had not met a single person on that team until the night of the playoff game, including (coach) Doc Rivers. That was when he invited me to play in his (charity) golf tournament."
FanHouse: It's hard for me to fathom this disconnect between the Celtics and guys like you who made the franchise what it is today. Explain.Sam Jones: "We don't have reunions, so there is no connection between the old and the new. There is no follow up on history. If you don't want to be bothered, then I don't want to be bothered, either. I have my peace of mind."
FanHouse: You coached only one season in the NBA, as an assistant with the New Orleans Jazz in 1974-75. What happened there?
Sam Jones: "There were some things I didn't like. It was a first-year expansion team. They had a chance to chose players from other teams. There was a black kid who we really liked, a good player, a top-15 rebounder, but ownership said we couldn't take him because he was married to a white lady. I thought that was a travesty. It just wasn't in my mode of thinking. We did take a guy from California, Stu Lantz, and he was married to a white girl, too, but the team didn't realize it until it was too late."
FanHouse: What else?
Sam Jones: "They hired a tremendous coach, Scotty Robertson who had some good ideas. One of them reminded me of Red, who used to say if you want to be champions, you had to dress like champions, look professional. Scotty fined some guys for not dressing well, and management wouldn't back him up. After [15] games, they told me they wanted to fire Scotty. I told them, `He should be Coach of the Year if he wins 20 games with this team.' I asked who would be the next coach, because Elgin Baylor and I were the only assistants, and was told that `New Orleans wasn't ready for a black head coach.' They brought in someone else (Butch van Breda Kolff), who wasn't real professional about some things. So one year of that was enough for me.''
FanHouse: Who's the greatest player you've ever seen?
Sam Jones: "I can't do that. Everyone has their own opinion. Michael Jordan won six NBA titles. Bill Russell won 11, so you tell me who is the greatest? When it comes to getting the job done, Bill Russell got it done. I always say `Russell was the greatest to ever play the game, then and now.' ''
FanHouse: What was it like playing alongside him your whole career? What made him so great?
Sam Jones: "He never, ever wanted to lose. He had so much pride. You'd never believe how tough he was on the court, not only on the other team, but on us, too. You had to bring it every night. If he saw you were not playing the way you were supposed to be playing, he'd have words for you.''
FanHouse: Go back to the racism you saw. What was it like with the Celtics?Sam Jones: "Red (Auerbach) was so far ahead of his time. People didn't realize how far ahead he was. He hired the first black coach (Russell). He was the first in the league to start five black players. He drafted the first black player (Chuck Cooper). Boston did a lot of things to advance integration into the NBA, even though people say Boston is a racist city. At least the Celtics did something different. I think Walter Brown (the owner) had something to do with it. He wanted the best players, and he didn't care if they was blue, black, brown, white or yellow. He went against the rules of the NBA.''
FanHouse: Now that you're retired, living in Florida, what do you do with your time?
Sam Jones: "Play golf three, four times a week, some of the nicest courses in the country. But I'm still lousy.''
FanHouse: Is that a true story that you almost didn't play in the NBA and nearly turned down the Celtics after they drafted you in the first round (out of North Carolina Central)?
Sam Jones: "I always liked the idea of being an educator, a teacher. And back then, neither profession paid very well. If I could have gotten another $500 from the school system where I wanted to teach, I never would have played professional basketball. And I would have been happy, being a teacher and a high school coach.''
FanHouse: Who else from your Celtic teams do you stay in contact with?
Sam Jones: "K.C. Jones. Well, I really just talk to his wife. She runs that house. K.C. and I always joke we should do a book together about our years, our struggles with the NBA and everything else back in the '50s. They put us in places they never should have put us. We should have sued the league for some of the things that happened to the black players.''
FanHouse: You think today's players appreciate what you went through?
Sam Jones: "What do you think?''
FanHouse: What do you think of LeBron James?Sam Jones: "He's going to be great. Guys like him, Dwight Howard, they come into the league so young. They have so much to learn. One of the things LeBron has to learn is that every single night, he should be at the free throw line 20 times. With his body, his height, jumping ability, size, he doesn't need to be shooting three's to get back into the game. He should be taking the ball to the basket every time and looking for the open man. Once he learns that, he'll take a lot of the load off his shoulders. He'll learn.
FanHouse: Are players today better than they were in your day?
Sam Jones: "I think they're in better condition. I don't know if their intelligence is better.''
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
I think today players make more money but, yesterday players were better, sometimes I get so mad when they call Jordan the first air walking, please then what do they call what Doctor "J" did???????
Dont compare MORE MONEY with BETTER PLAYERS
Old men sure like to reminisce. Can't teach an old dog a new trick. In the 60's thay still had Jim Crow laws; now we have an Obama. Would sam like to reminisce about the good old days?
That's because those BROTHAS went through A LOT. A WIMP like you couldn't STAND IN THEIR SHOES for ONE DAY in those times. YOU can't even handle seeing OBAMA IN THE WHITEHOUSE.
one day you be old you chump
Man, you are so out of touch with reality you are ignorant I don't even know why I'm responding to this how in the world can you even compare jim crow with Obama?, man, ignorant people you really disgust me, you make i sick
Bozallan, move back to the rain forest in Brazil, where you belong. LOSER
Hey, Chuck, don't forget your diapers before you go to bed. Must be tough looking in the mirror at what you have become. Plesant dreams, old man.
Great interview. I actually got to meet Mr.Jones about 10 years ago. He was a substitute teacher at my high school. He was very friendly and was very inspirational, good to hear he is doing well and enjoying life
As great as Jordan was, Len Bias would have been greater. When you measure championships, it goes to Bill Russell. When you measure statistics over a career, I think you have to put Larry Bird
at the top. When you add points, rebounds, assists averages all together--Bird comes out ahead of Jordan. If you factor in longevity, it goes back to Jordan.
If we go by stats along then Wilt Chamberlain ! Throw in the 25,000 women he should be on the NBA Logo instead of Jerry West. LOL!!!
Good to see Sam is still alive, and seemingly healthy. Kevin
Garnett over a decade ago played the greatest basketball athlete eve
in a movie, as young Wilt Chamberlain, maybe now he should play coach
Russell, the winningest athlete ever, with maybe Dirk Nowitzski as
Tommy Gun Heinsohn, maybe Troy Murphy as Jungle Jim "Loscy"
Loscutoff, maybe Peja
Stojakovich as Frank Ramsey, maybe Andrei Kirilenko as John Havlicek, maybe Ray Allen as Sam Jones, maybe
Jason Kidd as Bill Sharman, maybe Steve Nash as Bob Cousy, maybe Dwight Howard as John Thompson, maybe Ron Artest as "Satch" Sanders, maybe Kirk Heinrich as Larry Ziegfried, etc., or
whomever. Being a player coach, and the first black major league
head coach in the Nba, on the best smal ball team in Nba history,
could have been reasonably dramatic.
Who the hell is Larry Ziegfried???
Ziggy was an Ohio State and Celtics teammate of John Havlicek, like Sharman who preceeded him, one of the better free throw shooters in Nba history (a guard). Were an awful lot of really good basketball athletes in that Dynasty, Bailey Howell, at the end of his career, as a back up center, KC Jones, hard to think of current athletes remotely similarly, they are generally taller, among other things, now, so the guys I mentioned are generally taller, but generally have vague similarities.
Misspelled it though, Siegfried, was a 6`3, 190 guard on the same Ohio State championship team as Jerry Lucas and later coach Bobby Knight.
I know who Larry Siegfried is, but not Ziegfried.
Sam Jones was my idol growing up in Brooklyn. He is still revered in Boston and is still one of the greatest clutch shooters of all time. Heck, he is still one of the greatest shooters of all time, period. Incredibly intelligent man. Way to go #24!
I used to love the NBA. The Knicks were my team. but the Celtics were special. Now I won't waste my time watching overpaid, tattooed crybabies. In the old days players didn't get to palm the constantly. They were called on traveling. Now it's a circus. Way too many timeouts, turning the last 5 minutes into an hour.
Nope you can have it.
The players of Sam Jones Era Were far better Team players than todays. As players they were far better. I use to watch Pro Basketball all the time back in the late 50's and 60' 70's and now i rarely watch the whole game. I was a true fan I never left a game before the final buzzer. The old Celtics, Phila. Warriors, sixers Knicks, Lakers they were GREAT TEAMS TO WATCH. Russell, the Jones, Chamberlin, Cousey, West, Baylor ECT ECT. Those were the real Players of NBA. All Sport teams had players of this caliber Back in the Day. By the way I was a Celtic Fan from from the time Sam Jones talks about and I am from NJ.
Sam was teaching at a middle scholl near us, I took a basketball there to get an autograph ,but he had left for the weekend. They called him and he came back to sign the ball for me----great guy--from a lifelong Celtic fan
When i was a kid i went to Camp Milbrook, the celtics traing camp. during the season there were a few celtics that would be couselors. Sam Jones has one of them. Forty five years have past and i still remember his kindness and patience. I used to play tennis with him most evenings after dinner. About 15 yrs ago i saw him on an Amtrak train. i was so happy to see him and reminise about our summers. G-d bless you Sam, i will never forget you.