James Jones (basketball, born 1980)

James Andrew Jones (born October 4, 1980) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He is the executive vice president, head of basketball operations for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jones played 14 seasons in the NBA from 2003 to 2017. He was also the general manager and president of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns.

Jones was a four-year letterman at American High School in Hialeah, Florida. He averaged 25 points per game as a senior, earning Class 6A Player of the Year and First-team All-State honors. He then played college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes of the University of Miami, where he was a three-year starter and finished his career averaging 11 points per game. Jones was named Third-team All-Big East his junior year and Second-team Verizon Academic All-American his senior year. He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Jones was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft. He went on to play for the Pacers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. He won three NBA championships, two with the Heat and one with the Cavaliers. He and teammate LeBron James reached the NBA Finals for seven consecutive years from 2011 to 2017. Jones was never on an NBA team with a losing record and only missed the playoffs once—with the Trail Blazers in 2007–08. He finished third in the NBA in three-point percentage during the 2007–08 season and won the Three-Point Contest in 2011. His nickname is "Champ".

In July 2017, Jones was named the director of player personnel for the Suns. He was promoted to general manager in April 2019. After the Suns reached the playoffs for the first time since 2010, Jones was named the 2020–21 NBA Executive of the Year. He was later promoted to president of basketball operations and general manager after the team won a franchise-record 64 regular season games during the 2021–22 season. Provided by Wikipedia