K.C. Jones was an American basketball coach for the National Basketball League (NBA). Jones was born on May 25, 1932, to K.C. Jones Sr and Eula Jones in Taylor, Texas. Jones’ parents divorced when he was nine years old and he moved to San Francisco, California where he attended Commerce High School.
After high school, Jones attended the University of San Francisco where he played for the university’s Dons Men’s Basketball Team alongside future NBA player Bill Russell. During his time playing with the Dons, Jones and Russell helped the team win NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. They also led the team to a undefeated record during 1955-56 NCAA men’s basketball season with a 29-0 record. Both men also played on the United States national team which won the gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.
After college, Jones was the 13th overall draft pick of the Boston (Massachusetts) Celtics in the second round of the 1956 NBA Draft. Teammate Bill Russel was also drafted by the Celtics. Jones remained with the Celtics until he retired after the 1967 NBA Season at the age of 35.
Jones then begin his coaching career at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts where he served as head coach from 1967 to 1970. He was an assistant coach at Harvard University from 1970 to 1971. He then became an assistant coach with the Los Angeles (California) Lakers, helping lead the team to an NBA Finals championship in 1972 against the New York Knicks. He coached the American Basketball Association (ABA) team the San Diego (California) Conquistadors for one season before resigning. Jones returned to the NBA in 1974 to be head coach of the Baltimore Bullets when they relocated to Washington D.C. to become the Washington Bullets (Now Washington Wizards).
Jones’ best season as head coach of the Bullets came during the 1974-1975 season when he led the team to a 60-22 regular season record. The Bullets would make it to the 1975 NBA Finals against the Golden State (California) Warriors coached by Alvin Austin Attles Jr. The 1975 NBA Finals was the first Finals contest pitting teams against each other led by two African American coaches. The Bullets lost to the Warriors in four games.
Jones remained with the Bullets until 1976. He then became an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1976 to 1977. He returned to the Celtics as an assistant coach in 1978 and remained with the team as assistant coach until 1983. That year he became head coach for the Celtics in the 1983-1984 NBA Season. During his time as Celtics coach the team would have notable players including Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Nate Archibald, and Dennis Johnson. Jones would lead the Celtics to two NBA championships in 1984 and 1986.
K.C. Jones left the Celtics head coaching position in 1988. He then coached other teams including the Seattle (Washington) Supersonics (Now Oklahoma City Thunder), the Detroit (Michigan) Pistons, and the New England (Massachusetts) Blizzard. Jones was inducted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989.
K.C. Jones married Beverly Cain in 1959. The couple had five children together. He would remarry Ellen Jones, with whom he had a sixth child. K.C. Jones died on Christmas Day, 2020 in Connecticut at the age of 88.
