Caldwell Jones
Encyclopedia
Caldwell "Pops" Jones is a retired American
professional basketball
player.
Jones was drafted from Albany State University
(Georgia
) by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA Draft
. He played 3 seasons in the American Basketball Association
and 14 seasons in the NBA
, most extensively with the Philadelphia 76ers
.
Jones led the ABA in blocked shots in the 1973-74 season, and played in the 1975 ABA All-Star Game
. He shares (with Julius Keye
) the ABA's all-time record for blocked shots in a game with 12.
His brothers, Charles Jones, Wil Jones
and Major Jones
, all played at Albany State and in the NBA.
and company, Jones didn’t need to score much with Philadelphia, so he concentrated on rebounding, shotblocking, and defense. A lanky yet strong 6-foot-11 pivotman, his hustle, board work, and defense kept him in professional basketball for 17 years.
Playing in his final season at age 39, he was the fifth-oldest NBA player ever to have suited up at the time. He finished with 10,068 points (in the NBA and the American Basketball Association), but it had taken him 1,227 games to rack them up. No other player who scored 10,000 points had ever needed more than 1,200 games to do so.
“Everybody likes to look at the glorified part of the game, like scoring points,” Jones told USA Today
in 1990. “But there is a lot more to the game. I look at myself like an offensive lineman. Someone has to open the holes for the 1,000-yard rushers.”
“What do I think of Caldwell Jones? When he retires, I think they should have a farewell tour for him,” Larry Brown
, Jones’s coach with the San Antonio Spurs
, told USA Today.
Jones grew up in McGehee, Arkansas, a member of a very tall family. The 6-foot-3 Caldwell Jones, Sr., and his wife, 5-foot-11 Cecelia, had eight children. Their shortest child was Clovis, the only daughter, who measured in at 6-foot-3. Four of the Jones boys played in the NBA: Wilbert (6-foot-8, one season each with the Indiana Pacers
and the Buffalo Braves
, plus seven seasons with three ABA teams), Caldwell (five NBA and three ABA teams), Major (6-foot-9, five seasons with the Houston Rockets
, one with the Detroit Pistons
), and Charles (6-foot-9, 15 seasons total with Philadelphia, the Chicago Bulls
, the Washington Bullets, Detroit and the Houston Rockets
). Two other brothers played minor league basketball.
In the 37 NBA seasons accumulated by the four Jones brothers, only once did a Jones post a scoring average in double figures—Wilbert did it in 1976–77 with the Pacers, tallying 13.0 points per game. (However, between them the brothers had several double-figure scoring seasons in the ABA.)
Oliver Jones was the first of the Jones brothers to play basketball at Albany State in Georgia (and later became head coach for 28 years at the school). Five other brothers, including Caldwell, followed. For 18 straight seasons, a Jones occupied the center position for the Albany hoopsters.
Given these similarities, it was difficult to keep up with the Joneses. But it was Caldwell who most distinguished himself. He began in 1973–74 with the ABA’s San Diego Conquistadors
, coached by Wilt Chamberlain
. During three ABA seasons (including short stints with the Kentucky Colonels
and the Spirits of St. Louis
), Jones averaged 15.8 points, hitting a career high of 19.5 points per game in 1974–75. “I was a gunner,” he later told the Dallas Morning News. “Every time I caught the ball I shot it.”
With the ABA-NBA merger
prior to the 1976–77 season, Jones landed with Philadelphia. His days as a gunner were over. “We had so much talent on those 76er teams that [Coach Gene Shue] said all he wanted his centers to do was play defense and rebound. I had no argument with that,” Jones later told the Portland Oregonian. “We were winning and that’s the name of the game. And it’s kept me around for 16 years.”
In Jones’s first season with Philadelphia, the team was particularly explosive. Erving (21.6 ppg), George McGinnis
(21.4), Doug Collins
(18.3), and Lloyd B. Free
(later World B. Free) (16.3) propelled the squad to a 50-32 regular-season record and an NBA Finals
meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers
. Jumping out to a two-game lead, the Sixers appeared to be headed for the title, but the Trail Blazers rallied for an astounding four-games-to-two Finals win. For the season, Jones averaged 6.0 points and 8.1 rebounds and finished sixth on the team in minutes played. He also ranked fifth in the league in blocked shots with 200.
Philadelphia won the Atlantic Division again in 1977–78 but lost to Washington in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jones averaged 5.4 points (ninth on the team) and 7.0 rebounds (third). That season marked the emergence of Darryl Dawkins
, with whom Jones shared minutes in the pivot during the following seasons.
In 1978–79 the 76ers slipped a bit, finishing second in the Atlantic Division to Washington and losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. Jones averaged 9.3 points (his highest average at Philadelphia) and 9.6 rebounds and was ninth in the league in blocks with 157.
The 76ers reached the NBA Finals in 1980. Erving scored 26.9 points per game on the season, and Jones was a defensive force, pulling down 11.9 rebounds per game, fourth in the league, and blocking 162 shots, seventh in the league. Although Philadelphia finished behind the Boston Celtics in the regular season, the Sixers tore through the playoffs before coming up short against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Caldwell Jones and teammate Bobby Jones (no relation) were NBA All-Defensive First Team selections for the next two seasons, and the Sixers made another trip to the NBA Finals and battled the Lakers in 1982. Philadelphia again fell in six games. After the season, the 76ers sent Caldwell Jones to Houston in a deal that brought Moses Malone
to Philadelphia. The Sixers won the championship the following season.
Jones played two seasons in Houston (joining his brother Major on the Rockets squad), one in Chicago, four in Portland, and one in San Antonio. Primarily he was a reserve, called upon to spell the starting center, grab some rebounds, and play some defense. “I’m like a spare tire on the Cadillac
,” he told USA Today in the twilight of his career. “I’m just sitting around in the trunk, waiting to get put on the car if one of the fancy tires blows out. I’m not flashy, but I’m there when they need me.”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player.
Jones was drafted from Albany State University
Albany State University
Albany State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Albany, Georgia, United States. It is one of three HBCU's in the University System of Georgia.-History:-Establishment:...
(Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
) by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 14th pick in the 1973 NBA Draft
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...
. He played 3 seasons in the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
and 14 seasons in the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, most extensively with the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
.
Jones led the ABA in blocked shots in the 1973-74 season, and played in the 1975 ABA All-Star Game
1975 ABA All-Star Game
GAME 8: at HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas, January 28, 1975MVP: Freddie Lewis, Spirits of St. LouisCoaches:* East: Kevin Loughery, New York Nets* West: Larry Brown, Denver Nuggets-Western Conference: -Eastern Conference: -Score by Periods:...
. He shares (with Julius Keye
Julius Keye
Julius Keye was an American professional basketball player.A 6'10" forward/center from South Carolina State University and Alcorn State University, Keye played six seasons in the American Basketball Association as a member of the Denver Rockets and the Memphis Sounds...
) the ABA's all-time record for blocked shots in a game with 12.
His brothers, Charles Jones, Wil Jones
Wil Jones
Wilbert "Wil" Jones is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'8" forward from Albany State University, Jones was drafted in the fifth round of the 1969 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and by the Miami Floridians in the 1969 ABA Draft.Jones played seven seasons in the American...
and Major Jones
Major Jones
Major James Brooks Jones is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He attended and played collegiately at Albany State University....
, all played at Albany State and in the NBA.
Biography
The most prominent of four brothers who played in the NBA, Caldwell Jones was best known as the least flamboyant member of the high-powered Philadelphia 76ers teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Playing alongside Julius ErvingJulius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II , commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim....
and company, Jones didn’t need to score much with Philadelphia, so he concentrated on rebounding, shotblocking, and defense. A lanky yet strong 6-foot-11 pivotman, his hustle, board work, and defense kept him in professional basketball for 17 years.
Playing in his final season at age 39, he was the fifth-oldest NBA player ever to have suited up at the time. He finished with 10,068 points (in the NBA and the American Basketball Association), but it had taken him 1,227 games to rack them up. No other player who scored 10,000 points had ever needed more than 1,200 games to do so.
“Everybody likes to look at the glorified part of the game, like scoring points,” Jones told USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
in 1990. “But there is a lot more to the game. I look at myself like an offensive lineman. Someone has to open the holes for the 1,000-yard rushers.”
“What do I think of Caldwell Jones? When he retires, I think they should have a farewell tour for him,” Larry Brown
Larry Brown (basketball)
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
, Jones’s coach with the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, told USA Today.
Jones grew up in McGehee, Arkansas, a member of a very tall family. The 6-foot-3 Caldwell Jones, Sr., and his wife, 5-foot-11 Cecelia, had eight children. Their shortest child was Clovis, the only daughter, who measured in at 6-foot-3. Four of the Jones boys played in the NBA: Wilbert (6-foot-8, one season each with the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
and the Buffalo Braves
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were a team in the National Basketball Association. They later moved to San Diego, California to become the San Diego Clippers then subsequently the Los Angeles Clippers....
, plus seven seasons with three ABA teams), Caldwell (five NBA and three ABA teams), Major (6-foot-9, five seasons with the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
, one with the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
), and Charles (6-foot-9, 15 seasons total with Philadelphia, the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
, the Washington Bullets, Detroit and the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
). Two other brothers played minor league basketball.
In the 37 NBA seasons accumulated by the four Jones brothers, only once did a Jones post a scoring average in double figures—Wilbert did it in 1976–77 with the Pacers, tallying 13.0 points per game. (However, between them the brothers had several double-figure scoring seasons in the ABA.)
Oliver Jones was the first of the Jones brothers to play basketball at Albany State in Georgia (and later became head coach for 28 years at the school). Five other brothers, including Caldwell, followed. For 18 straight seasons, a Jones occupied the center position for the Albany hoopsters.
Given these similarities, it was difficult to keep up with the Joneses. But it was Caldwell who most distinguished himself. He began in 1973–74 with the ABA’s San Diego Conquistadors
San Diego Conquistadors
The San Diego Conquistadors, nicknamed the "Q's", were an American Basketball Association team based in San Diego, California. They were the only expansion team in the history of the ABA. The team played from 1972 to 1975. They were replaced in the ABA by the San Diego Sails.-San Diego...
, coached by Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...
. During three ABA seasons (including short stints with the Kentucky Colonels
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did...
and the Spirits of St. Louis
Spirits of St. Louis
The Spirits of St. Louis were one of two teams still in existence at the end of the American Basketball Association that did not survive the ABA-NBA merger. They were a member of the ABA in its last two seasons, 1974–75 and 1975–76, while playing their home games at the St...
), Jones averaged 15.8 points, hitting a career high of 19.5 points per game in 1974–75. “I was a gunner,” he later told the Dallas Morning News. “Every time I caught the ball I shot it.”
With the ABA-NBA merger
ABA-NBA merger
The ABA–NBA merger was the merger of the American Basketball Association with the National Basketball Association, which after multiple attempts over several years finally occurred in 1976.- Origins of ABA-NBA competition :...
prior to the 1976–77 season, Jones landed with Philadelphia. His days as a gunner were over. “We had so much talent on those 76er teams that [Coach Gene Shue] said all he wanted his centers to do was play defense and rebound. I had no argument with that,” Jones later told the Portland Oregonian. “We were winning and that’s the name of the game. And it’s kept me around for 16 years.”
In Jones’s first season with Philadelphia, the team was particularly explosive. Erving (21.6 ppg), George McGinnis
George McGinnis
George F. McGinnis is a retired American professional basketball player, most notably with the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association . He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana University in 1971...
(21.4), Doug Collins
Doug Collins
Paul Douglas "Doug" Collins is a retired American basketball player, a former four-time NBA All-Star and currently the head coach of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.-High school and college:...
(18.3), and Lloyd B. Free
World B. Free
World B. Free is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1975–1988. Free was known as the "Prince of Midair" as well as "All-World".-Early years:...
(later World B. Free) (16.3) propelled the squad to a 50-32 regular-season record and an NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
. Jumping out to a two-game lead, the Sixers appeared to be headed for the title, but the Trail Blazers rallied for an astounding four-games-to-two Finals win. For the season, Jones averaged 6.0 points and 8.1 rebounds and finished sixth on the team in minutes played. He also ranked fifth in the league in blocked shots with 200.
Philadelphia won the Atlantic Division again in 1977–78 but lost to Washington in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jones averaged 5.4 points (ninth on the team) and 7.0 rebounds (third). That season marked the emergence of Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins is a retired American professional basketball player, most noted for his days with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he also played briefly for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz late in his career...
, with whom Jones shared minutes in the pivot during the following seasons.
In 1978–79 the 76ers slipped a bit, finishing second in the Atlantic Division to Washington and losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. Jones averaged 9.3 points (his highest average at Philadelphia) and 9.6 rebounds and was ninth in the league in blocks with 157.
The 76ers reached the NBA Finals in 1980. Erving scored 26.9 points per game on the season, and Jones was a defensive force, pulling down 11.9 rebounds per game, fourth in the league, and blocking 162 shots, seventh in the league. Although Philadelphia finished behind the Boston Celtics in the regular season, the Sixers tore through the playoffs before coming up short against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Caldwell Jones and teammate Bobby Jones (no relation) were NBA All-Defensive First Team selections for the next two seasons, and the Sixers made another trip to the NBA Finals and battled the Lakers in 1982. Philadelphia again fell in six games. After the season, the 76ers sent Caldwell Jones to Houston in a deal that brought Moses Malone
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who starred in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association...
to Philadelphia. The Sixers won the championship the following season.
Jones played two seasons in Houston (joining his brother Major on the Rockets squad), one in Chicago, four in Portland, and one in San Antonio. Primarily he was a reserve, called upon to spell the starting center, grab some rebounds, and play some defense. “I’m like a spare tire on the Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
,” he told USA Today in the twilight of his career. “I’m just sitting around in the trunk, waiting to get put on the car if one of the fancy tires blows out. I’m not flashy, but I’m there when they need me.”
See also
- List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders