Player profile · BOS

Sam Jones

Sam Jones stats, teams and career impact

#39 all-timeCareer averages · 17.7 PPG · 4.9 RPG · 2.5 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Position: Shooting guard
Final NBA team: Boston Celtics
Height / weight: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) · 198 lb (90 kg)
Born: June 24, 1933
Died: December 30, 2021 (88 yrs old)
College: NC Central
NBA seasons: 12 seasons · 1957–58 to 1968–69

Career or season view

Career summarySam Jones was a shooting guard who played 12 NBA seasons, from 1957–58 through 1968–69.

Career PPG: 17.7
Career RPG: 4.9
Career APG: 2.5; #4 in 1965–66; #39 all-time

Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Career overview

Why Sam Jones ranks #39 all time

Sam Jones ranks #39 all time. 4 top-five finishes and 10 top-ten finishes give him a strong blend of peak and staying power. His full-career value ranks #77, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.

Peak#4 in 1965–66

Best league finish

Sustained excellence4 top-five finishes

10 top-ten finishes

Career breadth12 seasons

871 games · Career Value Rank #77

NBA honors5× All-Star · 3× All-NBAContext only; honors are not model inputs.

Head to head

Compare Sam Jones with…

Choose any two players →

Ten suggested matchups, selected from familiar debates, similar careers, and players from the same era. Compare career impact, peak seasons, and the numbers behind the result.

Suggested comparisons, not a ranking of search traffic.

Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources

Full team history

Teams: Boston Celtics
Greatest Celtics →

Career shooting

NBA regular season

Field goal: 45.6%FG%
Three-point: —3P%
Free throw: 80.3%FT%

871 career games · 24,285 minutes

Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.

Traditional box score

Sam Jones stats by season

Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.

Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →


1968–69	16.3	3.8	2.6	+2.09	BOS	70	0	26.0	45.0%	—	78.3%	#13	182.3
1967–68	21.3	4.9	3.0	+2.29	BOS	73	0	33.0	46.1%	—	82.7%	#9	260.7
1966–67	22.1	4.7	3.0	+1.91	BOS	72	0	32.3	45.4%	—	85.7%	#11	229.6
1965–66	23.5	5.2	3.2	+4.31	BOS	67	0	32.2	46.9%	—	79.9%	#4	345.4
1964–65	25.9	5.1	2.8	+3.72	BOS	80	0	36.1	45.2%	—	82.0%	#5	425.3
1963–64	19.4	4.6	2.7	+2.54	BOS	76	0	31.3	45.0%	—	78.3%	#8	281.4
1962–63	19.7	5.2	3.2	+3.56	BOS	76	0	30.6	47.6%	—	79.3%	#8	342.3
1961–62	18.4	5.9	3.0	+3.19	BOS	78	0	30.6	46.4%	—	81.8%	#7	337.9
1960–61	15.0	5.4	2.8	+3.04	BOS	78	0	26.0	44.9%	—	78.7%	#7	286.5
1959–60	11.9	5.1	1.7	+3.22	BOS	74	0	20.4	45.4%	—	76.4%	#5	224.1
1958–59	10.7	6.0	1.4	+3.77	BOS	71	0	20.6	43.4%	—	77.0%	#5	226.8
1957–58	4.6	2.9	0.7	+2.89	BOS	56	0	10.6	42.9%	—	71.4%	#9	75.6
Career	17.7	4.9	2.5	—	BOS	871	—	27.9	45.6%	—	80.3%	—	—

Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.

What these measures mean

Era-centered box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average.
Impact Rate Rank: The player's place among qualified players in one season.
Value contribution / Season Value: Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
Career Impact Rank: An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.

Career Impact Rank#39

5.2 composite · lower is better

Best 5#43

5.2 average league finish

Career Value Rank#77

3,218 total value

Career standing

How Sam Jones ranks all time

These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.

Number-one seasons0

Best in the league

Top-five seasons4

Elite finishes

Top-ten seasons10

Upper-tier finishes

Top-10 Impact Margin17.2

Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons

Career Composite Score5.2

Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.

Best 3 effective weight: 74%
Missing-season finish: —
Qualified seasons: 12
All-time rank: #39

Strongest seasons

Every season

Sam Jones advanced stats by season

Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.

More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage


1968–69Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	35	70	1,820	+2.09	91.0	#13	182.3	77th	Modeled
1967–68Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	34	73	2,408	+2.29	93.3	#9	260.7	88th	Modeled
1966–67Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	33	72	2,325	+1.91	90.0	#11	229.6	84th	Modeled
1965–66Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	32	67	2,155	+4.31	96.8	#4	345.4	95th	Modeled
1964–65Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	31	80	2,885	+3.72	95.5	#5	425.3	96th	Modeled
1963–64Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	30	76	2,381	+2.54	92.4	#8	281.4	89th	Modeled
1962–63Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	29	76	2,323	+3.56	92.3	#8	342.3	91st	Modeled
1961–62Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	28	78	2,388	+3.19	93.0	#7	337.9	91st	Modeled
1960–61Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	27	78	2,028	+3.04	92.4	#7	286.5	91st	Modeled
1959–60Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	26	74	1,512	+3.22	94.9	#5	224.1	81st	Modeled
1958–59Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	25	71	1,466	+3.77	95.0	#5	226.8	85th	Modeled
1957–58Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	24	56	594	+2.89	89.5	#9	75.6	54th	Modeled

Career movement

Sam Jones's career impact by season

Peak +4.31 in 1965–66 · 12 seasons · 24,285 minutes

The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. The vertical scale adapts to this player's range and always includes zero.

Era-centered box impactMinutesModeled estimate

Player-specific impact scaleWorkload

Career comparison

Compare the shape, not the calendar

Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.

Compare with a similar careerOpen full comparison →

Sam JonesNate McMillan

Era-centered box impactEstimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average · dashed marker means the player did not play

Sam Jones and Nate McMillan era-centered impact values by NBA season number
NBA season	Sam Jones	Nate McMillan
1	2.9	2.2
2	3.8	3.3
3	3.2	2.2
4	3.0	1.6
5	3.2	1.9
6	3.6	2.3
7	2.5	3.3
8	3.7	5.2
9	4.3	3.1
10	1.9	3.1
11	2.3	3.4
12	2.1	-0.3

NBA season number

Similar career arcs

Players with careers similar to Sam Jones

The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.

PG · All-Time Career #142

Nate McMillan

career similarity score

90/100 closest-season score · 1965–66 ↔ 1994–95 SG · All-Time Career #127

Alvin Robertson

career similarity score

88/100 closest-season score · 1965–66 ↔ 1990–91 SG · All-Time Career #162

Brent Barry

career similarity score

91/100 closest-season score · 1965–66 ↔ 2003–04

How to read this page

Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →