Samuel Jones (June 24, 1933 – December 30, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time NBA All-Star, he was known for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during the NBA playoffs. Jones has the second most NBA championships of any player (10), behind only his teammate Bill Russell (11). He was also one of only three Celtics (along with teammates Russell and K. C. Jones) to be part of each of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Jones is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Early life Sam Jones was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on June 24, 1933. He attended Laurinburg Institute, before studying at North Carolina Central University (then North Carolina College). There, he was a four-year letterwinner for Hall of Fame coach John McLendon and coach Floyd Brown. Jones scored 1,745 points and was a three-time All-CIAA league selection. His number 41 was later retired by the Eagles. He also served in the United States Army for two years. He was intending to become a teacher after graduating. Playing career Jones was originally drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in the eighth round of the 1956 NBA draft. However, he opted to return to college to earn his degree upon completion of military service, and therefore voided the Lakers' rights to him under NBA rules. Boston Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach subsequently took a trip south to scout North Carolina players who had just won the national championship. Former Wake Forest coach Bones McKinney told Auerbach he could visit Chapel Hill, but the best player in the state was a few miles away. Eventually, the Philadelphia Warriors selected North Carolina's Lennie Rosenbluth with the sixth pick of the 1957 NBA draft. Boston selected Jones two picks later, even though Auerbach had never seen Jones play. Jones made his NBA debut on October 22, 1957, recording one rebound in three minutes played against the St. Louis Hawks. He was a reserve for a number of seasons before replacing Bill Sharman as a starter. Jones was one of only six Boston Celtics to have ever scored 50 points in an NBA game. At the time of his death in 2021, he owned Boston's sixth-best single-game scoring output (51 points vs. Detroit Pistons on October