Bill Russell’s greatness is not in dispute, but I challenge
you to find an instance of a Russell game-winning basket.
Russell was the rebounder and defender that drove the
Celtics to 11 NBA titles, but Sam Jones was the guy they turned to when they
needed a hoop and he was a key figure on 10 of those 11 titles. I found a great
blog post from basketballscholar in 2015 that documented why Jones was known as
“Mr. Clutch.”
·
Game 7 of the 1962 Eastern Division Finals, Jones hit a 15-foot
jump shot with two seconds left to lead Boston over Wilt Chamberlain’s Warriors,
109-107.
·
Game 4 of the 1969 NBA Finals, Jones hit 17-foot jump shot with a
second to go to beat Wilt’s Lakers, 89-88.
Those are the playoff game-winners. In 1963, in a Game Seven
against the Cincinnati Royals, Jones scored 47 points to lead Boston over
Cincinnati despite 43 points from Oscar Robertson. The 47 points remains an NBA
record for a Game Seven. In 1966, Boston was tied 2-2 with Cincinnati in a
five-game series and Jones scored 34 to the Celtics over the Royals, 112-103.
Jones’ playoff heroics are big to his reputation. It’s his
12 years as the key scorer on the greatest pro sports dynasty that earns him a
spot in my top 40. He churned out PERs between 17.6 and 21.7 in the regular
season in 11 of his 12 years. He had six years of 8.0 win shares or better. The
Celtics won 72 percent of the games Jones played in and 65 percent of the playoff
games. His 10 NBA titles is second only to Russell.
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Sam Jones
bio info
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Career
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1957-1969
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|
Games
|
871
|
|
Points
|
17.7
|
|
Rebounds
|
4.9
|
|
Assists
|
2.5
|
|
FG Pct.
|
45.6%
|
|
All-Star games
|
5
|
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NBA MVPs
|
0
|
|
NBA Titles
|
10
|
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Playoff seasons
|
12
|
|
Playoff games
|
154
|
|
Points
|
18.9
|
|
Rebounds
|
4.7
|
|
Assists
|
2.3
|
|
FG Pct.
|
44.7%
|
|
Hall of Fame
|
1984
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Top 100
rankings
|
||
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Points
|
Top 100 ranking
|
|
1-year
|
310.41
|
73rd
|
|
5-year
|
1,482.36
|
40th
|
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10-year
|
2,818.72
|
30th
|
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Career
|
3,304.85
|
43rd
|
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Sam Jones
at his peak
|
|||
|
1964-1965
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Jones
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Top 5
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Points
|
|
PER
|
20.7
|
24.91
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
12.8
|
15.68
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
|
VORP
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
33.5
|
40.59
|
82.53
|
|
Playoff PER
|
18.4
|
22.99
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
2.0
|
2.30
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
|
VORP
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
|
Total Advanced Stats
|
20.4
|
25.29
|
80.68
|
|
Reg. Season Win %
|
77.50
|
77.50
|
|
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Playoff Win %
|
66.67
|
66.67
|
|
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MVP Voting (75 points)
|
4/99
|
3.03
|
|
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
|
0
|
0
|
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Total Score
|
|
|
310.41
|
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Jones' 10 greatest seasons
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|
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1964-1965
|
310.41
|
|
1963-1964
|
301.44
|
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1965-1966
|
300.92
|
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1960-1961
|
286.05
|
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1962-1963
|
283.54
|
|
1958-1959
|
283.35
|
|
1966-1967
|
275.45
|
|
1959-1960
|
262.01
|
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1961-1962
|
260.23
|
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1957-1958
|
255.32
|
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Career
winning percentage
|
|||
|
|
W
|
L
|
Pct.
|
|
Regular Season
|
624
|
242
|
72.06%
|
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Playoffs
|
100
|
54
|
64.94%
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