NEW YORK – North Carolina Central University men's basketball legend Sam Jones (Wilmington, N.C.) has been recognized for his illustrious career multiple times, and now he has received yet another honor as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA) 75th Anniversary Team, the league announced on October 21.
 
Jones was drafted eighth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1957, and played the entirety of his 12-year career in green from 1957-69, and won 10 NBA championships.  Jones ranks top-10 all-time in a pair of NBA Finals statistical categories: second-most games played, and seventh-most career points scored.  He also averaged 18.8 points per outing in the postseason, and scored a then Celtics record 51 points in a playoff game, a mark that was later surpassed by fellow NBA Hall of Famer, Larry Bird.
 
Jones, nicknamed "Mister Clutch," amassed a total of 15,411 points in 871 games, and averaged 17.7 points per game in Boston.  He also pulled down 4.9 rebounds per night, and sank free throws at a clip of 80.3 percent.  He averaged 20+ points per game in four seasons, was a five-time All-Star, and a three-time All-NBA selection.  Jones was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984, and was also a member of the NBA's 25th and 50th Anniversary Teams.
 
While at NCCU, Jones was the first two-time all-conference honoree in 1954 and 1957, and was one of the first Eagles to receive the honor in 1954, along with Charles Harrison.  He's second all-time in career points scored (1,745), second in free throws made (409), fourth in field goals made (668), fourth in scoring average (17.8), and seventh in rebounds (578).  Jones also filled the peach basket for a career-high 44 points against North Carolina A&T in the 1953-54 season, and that number still stands as the second-most points in a single game by an Eagle.
 
The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. Voters were asked to select the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History without regard to position. Panelists did not rank their selections. Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.
 
To view the entire team, visit NBA.com.
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.