James Jones and LeBron James.
A "little person" who is unknown in the NBA can also live a wonderful life, and can always be wonderful...
Among the active NBA players, the number of players who have lived more than three championships can be described as a handful. Although like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, he has won the championship with the team three times, James Jones's career average of only 5.2 points per game makes him more like a dispensable "little man" on the way to the team's championship.
In fact, a lot of times when talking about James Jones, more people do prefer to believe that his three championship experiences are due to good popularity rather than good skills, which not only makes James Jones synonymous with "lucky", but also gives him some well-intentioned irony. But now it seems that James Jones is clearly not just a player who "messes" in the NBA with his character or luck, after all, how many players can quickly become the vice president of an NBA team after retiring?
James Jones has become one of the Suns executives.
James Jones has that ability. At the end of July, the Suns announced another personnel appointment while renewing his contract with "post-80s" general manager Ryan McDonald: James Jones will serve as the team's vice president of basketball operations. McDonald explains why he has a crush on James Jones on behalf of the team: he not only has a wealth of experience, but also has a long career in the players' union (financial secretary).
In the NBA, the players' union is a very good organization, and most of the players who can hold key positions in this organization have excellent popularity, which is very consistent with James Jones. But it should also be noted that in addition to "little people" such as James Jones, most of the players who serve in the players' union are also absolute superstars in the NBA - the current chairman is Chris Paul. That alone is enough to show that James Jones is different.
Of course, as a 14-year veteran of the NBA, James Jones' career is not without highlights.
James Jones once fought alongside Nash.
In 2003, James Jones was selected by the Pacers to the NBA in 2003 at no. 49 overall in the second round, and in 2005, James Jones, the Pacers' then-highest three-point shooting percentage, was traded to the Suns. During the Suns' two seasons, James Jones gradually found the rhythm of the game. In the 2005-2006 season, James Jones was the player with the lowest turnover rate in the entire NBA, and his turnover rate that season was still in the top four of the lowest turnover rates in the NBA, and in the 2006-2007 season, he hit 45 consecutive free throws, setting an NBA record that season.
In the 2007-2008 season after the Suns switched to the Blazers, James Jones shot 44.4 percent from three-point range, third behind Capono and Nash. Subsequently, James Jones joined his hometown team Heat and truly ushered in a major turning point in his career.
Two "Jameses" celebrate winning the championship.
In the years that followed, James Jones followed the Heat (twice) and the Cavaliers to three championships, and although he didn't have any overly eye-catching performances in the Finals, he was able to stay on the right team and was enough to make many players feel envious. It should also be said that the deep friendship between James Jones and LeBron James was also almost a model of friendship between players for a long time.
James Jones with the championship trophy.
Throughout his 14-year career, James Jones averaged 5.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game, in addition to averaging just 0.3 turnovers per game in his career and shooting 40.1 percent from three-point range. In addition to winning three championships with the team and advancing to the Finals for seven consecutive years like LeBron James, James Jones was a three-pointer champion in 2011 and was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
James Jones on the basketball court is also a successful businessman, not only a partner in a consulting firm but also once owned a company that transformed the old city. In short, James Jones, who has played in the NBA for all these years, although there is no personal performance that is too eye-catching for most people, he has also been trying to move forward, and the management of the Suns this time is obviously proof of this.
Well, good luck to James Jones in the future!