Sacred eight times in a row as a player between 1959 and 1966, KC Jones also won an Olympic title in 1956. He died at the age of 88.
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Le Monde avec AFP
The legend of the Boston Celtics team, KC Jones, twelve times champion of the North American basketball league (NBA) in as a player and coach, died at the age of 88. “The Celtics family mourn the loss of KC Jones as we celebrate his remarkable life and career, the Massachusetts franchise paid tribute to him by announcing his death on Friday, December 25. He has shown that you can be both a fierce competitor and a gentleman in every sense of the word. “
K. C. Jones, also Olympic gold medalist with the United States in 1956 and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989, was crowned eight times in a row as a player between 1959 and 1966, making him one of the most successful in NBA history, behind then-teammates Bill Russell (eleven) and Sam Jones (twelve).
“Where KC Jones went, victory sure followed” h2 >
He added four rings to his collection: two as a coach, from the equally legendary Celtics team led by Larry Bird in 1984 and 1986, and two more as an assistant coach in 1972 (with the Lakers) and 1981 (with Boston). Jones also won the NCAA Championship with the University of San Francisco in 1955 and 1956. This past year, he was part of the winning US campaign at the Melbourne Games, alongside future Celtics teammate Bill Russell.
“Where KC Jones was going, victory was sure to follow,” the Celtics recalled. Jones was indeed part – along with Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Quinn Buckner, Jerry Lucas and Clyde Lovellette – of the club of the few players who won the “triple crown” bringing together NBA, NCAA (university championship) and Olympic titles. “The way he was revered by the players he played with, by the people he worked with, by the players who played for him, made him special,” said the current coach. Celtics, Brad Stevens, a few hours away from hosting Brooklyn in a Christmas game.
If his playing career is played only under the colors of green clover, that of technician saw him sit on the benches of Washington, Milwaukee, Seattle or even Detroit without meeting as successful as in Boston, where he rarely lost. His only losses in the finals were conceded in 1985 and 1987, against the Lakers of Magic Johnson.