Steve Jones (basketball)

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Steve Jones
Position	Guard
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
League	ABA/NBA
Born	October 17, 1942 (1942-10-17) (age 65) Alexandria, Louisiana
Nationality	USA
High school	Franklin
College	Oregon
Pro career	1967–1976
Former teams	Oakland Oaks New Orleans Buccaneers Memphis Pros Dallas Chaparrals Carolina Cougars Denver Rockets Spirits of St. Louis Portland Trail Blazers

Stephen (Steve) Howard "Snapper" Jones (born October 17, 1942, in Alexandria, Louisiana) is one of the most esteemed and watched National Basketball Association (NBA) television analysts.

[edit] Basketball career

Jones is from Portland, Oregon, where he led Franklin High School to the state basketball championship in 1959. He went on to a standout career at the University of Oregon, pacing the Ducks in scoring during the 1963-64 season.

Jones earned all-star honors during eight seasons in the American Basketball Association where he averaged 16.0 points while scoring over 10,000 points in 640 games. Jones played for the Oakland Oaks (1967-68), New Orleans Buccaneers (1968-1970), Memphis Pros (1970-71), Dallas Chaparrals (1971-1973), Carolina Cougars (1973-1974), Denver Rockets (1974) and Spirits of St. Louis (1974-1975). Jones was a three time ABA All Star, shot 34% from three point range and never in his career had a technical foul called against him.

Jones then jumped leagues and finished his professional playing career with the NBA Portland Trail Blazers in 1975-76.

[edit] Broadcasting career

Jones' broadcasting career began in 1976 (the season after he retired as a player with the Portland Trail Blazers), when he became a color commentator for CBS. He was part of the network's crew that handled the Blazers championship game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He also served as color analyst for the Blazers that year. Jones' other broadcasting credits include stints with TNT, TBS, USA Network and the Denver Nuggets. Snapper joined NBC shortly after the network obtained the rights to telecast NBA games prior to the 1990-91 season.

After serving as an analyst on The NBA on NBC for 13 years, Jones now works in that same position for NBA TV.

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.

Snapper also gained notoriety while announcing with Bill Walton, often responding to Walton's sometimes sensational statements with phrases such as "Bill, you can't be serious..."