Eddie Jones

Edward Charles Jones (born October 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played for five teams in his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career.

Jones played college basketball for Temple from 1991 to 1994.

In his junior season, he led them to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and in his final season with the Owls he averaged 19.2 points.

Jones played college basketball at Temple University and was the 1993–94 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.

He led the Owls to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament.

The three-time NBA All-Star was selected 10th overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1994, he was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Jones with the 10th overall selection in the 1994 NBA draft.

Lakers general manager Jerry West stated, "We wanted the best pure athlete available, and Eddie was too good to pass up".

In his rookie season Jones averaged 14.0 points per game and 2.05 steals per game as he played in 64 games, 58 of which he started.

He also led the NBA in steal/turnover ratio (1.75), placed 4th in the NBA Rookie of the Year ballot, and was on the 1994–95 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

In the 94–95 All-Star weekend Rookie Challenge he won the MVP, posting a game-high 25 points, 6 steals, and 4 rebounds.

With his combination of size, athleticism, and defense, Jones began to draw favorable comparisons to another former Lakers great, Michael Cooper.

(Cooper himself said that looking at Jones on the court was like "looking in a mirror." ) Jones would become an integral part of the Lakers squad, along with Nick Van Exel and Cedric Ceballos as the Lakers made the playoffs and upset the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round 3–1 before facing the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs led by league MVP David Robinson.

The younger Lakers managed to push the Spurs to six games before losing the series, with Jones averaging 8.7 points off the bench in his first playoff run.

The following year featured Jones solidifying his position as the team's starting shooting guard, as Jones started 66 of 70 games and averaged 12.8 points a game for the season.

The Lakers improved their total record to 53 wins, bolstered by the midseason return of franchise legend Magic Johnson out of retirement.

The Lakers made the playoffs again, but could not defeat the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, who defeated the Lakers 3–1 in the first round.

Jones averaged 17.3 points in the series.

After his second season, Jones switched from number 25 to 6, as the Lakers had retired 25 for Gail Goodrich.

He selected 6 as growing up he was a fan of Julius Erving.

In the off-season, the team acquired superstar center Shaquille O'Neal, and traded Vlade Divac to the Hornets for rookie guard Kobe Bryant.

Jones played and started in 80 games, placing second in the team in scoring with 17.2 points and fourth in the league in steals with 2.4 a game.

He also played in his first NBA All-Star Game, scoring 10 points in 17 minutes in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.

Led by O'Neal, the Lakers won 56 games before defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, but fell to the top-seeded Utah Jazz in five games in the conference semifinals.

Jones struggled in the playoffs, as his scoring average fell to 11.2 in the postseason.

In the 1997–98 season, Jones averaged 16.9 points with 2 steals a game, and scored 15 points with 11 rebounds in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game.

His pesky defense also earned him a selection to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.

The Lakers won 61 games and defeated Portland and Seattle in the first and second round of the playoffs.

The team failed to win a game in the conference finals against the Jazz, however, as the veteran team swept the Lakers.

Jones averaged 17 points with 2 steals in 13 playoff games.

The following season would be shortened to 50 games due to a league lockout, with Jones starting the first 20 games of the season before he and Elden Campbell were traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Glen Rice, J. R. Reid, and B. J. Armstrong on March 10, 1999.

Jones started in 30 games for the remainder of the season with the Hornets, who did not make the playoffs, but Jones placed second in the league in steals with 2.5 a game and made the All-Defensive team for the second straight year.

Jones's following campaign with the Hornets, the 1999–2000 season, was his finest statistically, as he averaged 20.1 points, led the league in total steals (192) and steals per game (2.7) along with 4.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Jones was also voted to start at guard for the Eastern Conference in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game and scored 10 points in 21 minutes.

The Hornets won 49 games and made the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers in four games.

At the end of the season, Jones was named to the All-NBA Third Team for the first time and was named to his third straight All-Defensive second team.

Jones became a free agent after the 2000 season, and talked with the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic, but wanted to play for his hometown of Miami.

After re-signing with the Hornets, Jones was traded with Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis to the Miami Heat for Otis Thorpe, Rodney Buford, Jamal Mashburn, Tim James and P.J. Brown.

Jones' rerouting was a sign-and-trade.