K.C. Jones, a star point guard for the Boston Celtics who later coached the team during his Hall of Fame career, has died, the Celtics confirmed Friday. He was 88.
According to the Celtics, Jones’ family said he died at an assisted living facility in Connecticut, where he had been receiving care for Alzheimer’s disease for the past several years.
Jones played on eight NBA championship teams during his nine-year career in Boston, which stretched from 1958 through 1967. He scored 5,011 points and averaged 7.4 points per game.
Moving to the coaching ranks, Jones won another NBA title in 1981 as an assistant with the Celtics and two others as Boston’s head coach, in 1984 and 1986.
Jones’ No. 25 is retired by the Celtics and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989.
Jones coached for 11 seasons in the NBA and ABA, ESPN reported, carving out a 552-306 record.
Jones was not a flashy guard with high scoring statistics, but his defensive play helped the Celtics win. His playmaking skills also ignited the Celtics on offense.
’'I just didn’t see how a man who shot as poorly as K.C. could stay in the NBA,’' former teammate Bob Cousy told ESPN. ’'I really didn’t think his other skills would be enough to keep him around. But I was wrong. The man turned out to be amazing on defense and eventually learned to score enough so that rival teams couldn’t afford not to guard him.’'
Jones left the Celtics bench after the 1987 season, moving into the team’s front office before finishing his career with coaching stints in Seattle and Detroit.
Jones starred with Bill Russell at the University of San Francisco, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and ’56. The summer after the second title, the teammates led Team USA to a gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics. The two were later teammates in Boston.
Jones is just one of seven players to win college basketball and NBA titles as well as Olympic gold, joining Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner and Clyde Lovellette, ESPN reported.