Known as the "Thrilla From Camilla", Jones is originally from Cocoa, FL, he moved to South Georgia as a freshman, where he played competitive high school basketball in the tiny town of Camilla, Georgia. There he honed his skills and as a senior became a 1997 2nd Team Parade All-American, averaging 32.8ppg 13.5rbs 3.7ast & 2.6blks per game. He spent two standout seasons at the University of Georgia. As a freshman Jones shared the Freshman of the Year award with University of Tennessee guard Tony Harris in 1997-98 season, leading the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 14.7ppg 8.5rbs & 1.0ast. Building on a good freshman campaign, Jones became the first UGA to lead the SEC in scoring since Vern Fleming in 1984, averaging 18.8ppg 9.5rbs & 1.2stls. Additionally, in 1998-99 season, he was the first sophomore in school history to score 1,000 points since Dominique Wilkins did so in 1981. That year, he was also selected to represent the U.S. at the 1998 Goodwill Games. On the 1998 Goodwill Games Team, Jones started all 5 games alongside future 1999 NBA overall 1st pick Elton Brand as wells as overall 6th pick Wally Szczerbiak and 8th Andre Miller.
Professional career
NBA
Declaring himself eligible for the 1999 NBA draft, he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 27th overall pick, but he was immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he spent two years. On December 30, 1999, against the Portland Trail Blazers, Jones became a part of NBA history when he scored the final basket of the 1990s which makes him a part of the NBA Hall of Fame. As the 76ers became the 2001 Eastern Conference champions, Jones started throughout the postseason after current starter George Lynch went down with an injury, including the 2001 NBA Finals, in which the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the 76ers in five games. Jones best game of the 2001 NBA playoff run came in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semis against the Vince Carter-led Toronto Raptors. Jones played 31 minutes going 6-9 from the field and tallying 16 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist. He then played two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, before being traded to the Boston Celtics. In Boston, he suffered an injury early into the season and limited his appearances. In 2004, he was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers, but only when the deal was renegotiated after Gary Payton initially refused to report to the Celtics. On October 26, 2005, Jones was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for a future second-round draft pick. On August 31, 2006, he signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Suns. Jones was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the New Jersey Nets on October 1, 2007, but he was waived later that month.
