Steve "Snapper" Jones
Denver Rockets | |
1974–1975 | Spirits of St. Louis |
---|---|
1975–1976 | Portland Trail Blazers |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Stephen Howard "Snapper" Jones (October 17, 1942 – November 25, 2017) was an American
Biography
Basketball career
Jones was born in
Jones earned
Jones then jumped leagues and finished his professional playing career in the NBA out with the
Broadcasting career
Jones' broadcasting career began in
After serving as an analyst on
One of Jones' career highlights was his assignment as basketball analyst with Chick Hearn and Jim Durham in Barcelona, as part of the NBC coverage of men's basketball during the 1992 Olympic Games. In that capacity he worked the equivalent of almost one-half of an NBA season, 36 games, in just two weeks.
When he worked at NBC, Jones was typically paired up with former NBA teammate Bill Walton for NBA games due to the point-counterpoint style of banter between the two. He gained notoriety while announcing with Bill Walton for reining in his verbose outbursts, often responding to Walton's sometimes sensational statements with phrases such as "Bill, you can't be serious..." Though they typically argued and disagreed during games, the two had a mutual respect for each other and remained good friends. They reunited on Walton's short-lived TV show Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip.
Personal life and death
Jones' health began declining in 2005 when he suffered an appendicitis attack while on assignment in New York. His younger brother, Nick Jones stated, "My brother was a very strong guy. He fought for life for a long time."[2] Jones died on November 25, 2017, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 75.[3] [2]
He was survived by his younger brother, Nick Jones (his older brother Roman had died earlier the same week), his mother & sisters, his wife Carol and son Steve Jr. Steve Jones Jr would go on to play college basketball and become an assistant coach in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets. [2]
References
- ^ "Nick Jones ABA & NBA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Eggers, Kerry (December 2, 2017), "'SNAPPER': REMEMBERING THE ICONIC STEVE JONES", The Oregonian
- ^ a b Canzano, John (November 25, 2017), "Former Trail Blazer Steve "Snapper" Jones dead at the age of 75", The Oregonian
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- RememberTheABA.com Steve Jones page and statistics