Miami Heat guard Derrick Jones Jr.: Then, now and what’s to come
Then
A Pennsylvania native, Jones’ career began with a sibling rivalry. During the summer leading up to seventh grade was when Jones took first flight towards the hoop, brandishing his dunking ability to his older brother.
"“No one believed I could dunk,” Jones told the Players’ Tribune. He continued, “So the first time I dunked, I really just wanted to do one thing … shut my brother up.”"
With a new-found talent, Jones pursued an illustrious high school basketball career. At Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Jones, was ranked in the top 100 recruits of 2014-15 by Scout.com and in the top 50 by Rivals and ESPN.
Rocking a No. 24 jersey, he led the Patriots to a 23-7 record in his final season, while posting averages of 19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Earning offers from Auburn, Connecticut, Saint Joseph’s Temple and Villanova, Jones committed to UNLV in November 2014.
Seemingly on his way to lighting up the hardwood in Nevada, Jones’ amateur career hit a snag. After taking the ACT before his college admission and being cleared to suit up for UNLV, the NCAA pressed forward with allegations that Jones’ scores, and those of other minority student-athletes from a Baltimore area testing center were invalid.
The claims were based around alleged inconsistencies regarding Jones’ GPA and ACT scores. Given the options to retake the test, pursue arbitration or toss the scorer altogether, Jones decided against all three. Instead, he ended his NCAA eligibility, forcing him to miss the final three contests of UNLV’s 2015-16 season.
Betting on himself, Jones declared for the 2016 NBA draft. Despite going undrafted, the Sacramento Kings invited him to join their Summer League team. Ironically, Jones’ games, for which he was sidelined with a groin injury, were played at his alma mater, UNLV.
Months later, the Suns signed Jones during training camp, giving the highflyer another runway. Making his NBA debut on opening night against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jones spent much of the season bouncing between the Suns and their then- D-League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns.
Arguably the biggest break of his career, Jones was thrust into the national spotlight when he was invited to perform in the 2017 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest in New Orleans. Going through the legs, and jumping over more people than most can, Jones secured a second-place finish behind the Indiana Pacers Glenn Robinson III.
The rest of Jones’ season was relatively routine. He earned time in 25 of the Suns’ remaining games and went on to play for their Summer League Team prior to the 2017-18 season.