Jumaine Lanard Jones (born February 10, 1979, in
Cocoa, Florida) is an American professional
basketball player. He is currently with Eldo Basket
Napoli in the Italian Serie A. A journeyman NBA
player, his position is small forward, but he plays
power forward occasionally.
Known as the "Thrilla from Camilla", he played
competitive high school basketball in the tiny town
of Camilla, Georgia. He spent two impressive years
at the University of Georgia, becoming the first
sophomore to lead the SEC in scoring since Vern
Fleming in 1984. Additionally, 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. in the
1998 Goodwill Games.
Declaring himself eligible for the 1999 NBA Draft,
he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 27th
overall pick, but was immediately traded to the
Philadelphia 76ers, where he spent two years, one of
which he went to the NBA finals, where he
contributed solidly off the bench. 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 after 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 unrestictred free agent by
the New Jersey Nets on October 1, 2007 but was
waived later that month. He signed a one-year
contract with Eldo Basket Napoli on October 24,
2007.
