Dillon Jones
{{Short description|American basketball player (born 2001)}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Dillon Jones
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| position = Small forward
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 235
| league = NBA
| team = Oklahoma City Thunder
| number = 3
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|10|29}}
| birth_place = Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
| high_school =
- Keenan (Columbia, South Carolina)
- Sunrise Christian Academy
(Bel Aire, Kansas)
| college = Weber State (2020–2024)
| draft_year = 2024
| draft_round = 1
| draft_pick = 26
| draft_team = Washington Wizards
| career_start = 2024
| years1 = {{nbay|2024|start}}–present
| team1 = Oklahoma City Thunder
| years2 = 2024–2025
| team2 = →Oklahoma City Blue
| highlights =
- Big Sky Player of the Year (2024)
- 3× First-team All-Big Sky (2022–2024)
- Big Sky Freshman of the Year (2021)
}}
Dillon Keshaun Jones (born October 29, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats.
Early life and high school career
Jones grew up in Columbia, South Carolina and initially attended Keenan High School.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/high-school/article277329223.html|title=Dillon Jones talks his big summer, NBA Draft process and returning to Weber State|first=Lou|last=Bezjak|work=The State|date=July 17, 2023|access-date=September 21, 2023}} He averaged 12.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game as a junior. Jones transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas before the start of his senior year.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/high-school/prep-basketball/article232175692.html|title=Basketball: Dillon Jones transferring to Sunrise Christian|work=The State|date=July 1, 2019|access-date=September 21, 2023}}
College career
During his freshman season with the Weber State Wildcats, Jones played in all 23 games and was named the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and leading the conference with 37 total steals and 1.6 steals per game.{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospect-profiles/nba-draft-scouting-report-weber-states-dillon-jones|title=NBA Draft Scouting Report: Weber State's Dillon Jones|website=SI.com|date=April 27, 2023|access-date=September 22, 2023}} He was named first team All-Big Sky as a sophomore after averaging 12.6 points and a conference-high 10.6 rebounds per game and finishing third with 1.8 steals per game.{{cite web|url=https://midutahradio.com/sports-news/sports-news-local/weber-state-mens-basketball-standout-dillon-jones-named-to-all-big-sky-conference-preseason-team/|title=Weber State Men’s Basketball Standout Dillon Jones Named To All-Big Sky Conference Preseason Team|website=MidUtahRadio.com|date=October 27, 2022|access-date=September 22, 2023}} Jones repeated as a first team All-Big Sky selection after leading the conference again with 10.9 rebounds per game while also averaging 16.7 points and 1.6 steals per game.{{cite web|url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2023/05/15/weber-states-dillon-jones-earns/|title=Weber State's Dillon Jones earns NBA Draft Combine invite|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=May 15, 2023|access-date=September 22, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2024-nba-draft-10-players-returning-to-college-who-can-improve-their-stock-the-most-during-the-2023-24-season/|title=2024 NBA Draft: 10 players returning to college who can improve their stock the most during the 2023-24 season|first=Cameron|last=Salerno|website=CBS Sports|date=June 6, 2023|access-date=September 22, 2023}} After the season he entered his name into the 2023 NBA draft and was invited to both the NBA and NBA G League combines.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.net/sports/weber-state/2023/may/14/dillon-jones-nba-g-league-elite-camp-draft-combine-weber-state-basketball/|title=Weber State basketball: Dillon Jones shines at G League camp, invited to NBA Draft Combine|first=Brett|last=Hein|work=Standard-Examiner|date=May 14, 2023|access-date=September 26, 2023}} Jones ultimately withdrew in order to return to Weber State for his senior season.{{cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/31/23745012/dillon-jones-puts-off-2023-nba-draft-to-return-to-weber-state|title=Dillon Jones withdraws, returning to Weber State|work=Deseret News|date=May 31, 2023|access-date=September 22, 2023}}
Professional career
=Oklahoma City Thunder / Blue (2024–present)=
On June 26, 2024, Jones was selected with the 26th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2024 NBA draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-draft-order|title=2024 NBA Draft Results: Picks 1–58|website=National Basketball Association|date=July 8, 2024|access-date=July 18, 2024}} His draft rights were traded later that day along with the 51st pick in the 2024 draft to the New York Knicks in exchange for the draft rights to Kyshawn George. The Knicks immediately traded Jones's draft rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder for five future second-round draft picks.{{cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/knicks/news/new-york-knicks-acquire-six-draft-picks|title=2024 NBA Draft: New York Knicks Acquire Six Draft Picks|date=June 27, 2024|website=National Basketball Association|access-date=July 18, 2024}}{{cite web|first=Julia|last=Stumbaugh|title=Knicks Rumors: NY Acquires 6 2nd-Round NBA Draft Picks in Wizards, Thunder Trades|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10126268-knicks-rumors-ny-acquires-6-2nd-round-nba-draft-picks-in-wizards-thunder-trades|website=ClutchPoints.com|date=June 27, 2024|access-date=June 28, 2024}} On July 6, he signed a multi-year contract with the Thunder{{cite web|title=Thunder Signs Nikola Topić and Dillion [sic] Jones|url=https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/topic-jones-mitchell-240706|website=National Basketball Association|date=July 6, 2024|access-date=July 7, 2024}} and throughout his rookie season, he has been assigned several times to the Oklahoma City Blue.{{cite web|title=2024-2025 Oklahoma City Blue Transaction History|url=https://basketball.realgm.com/gleague/teams/Oklahoma-City-Blue/38/Transaction_History/2025|website=RealGM.com|access-date=December 21, 2024}}
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=NBA=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2024}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City
| 54 || 3 || 10.2 || .383 || .254 || .607 || 2.2 || 1.1 || .3 || .1 || 2.5
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 54 || 3 || 10.2 || .383 || .254 || .607 || 2.2 || 1.1 || .3 || .1 || 2.5
{{S-end}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21
| style="text-align:left;"| Weber State
| 23 || 2 || 20.5 || .561 || .250 || .790 || 5.8 || 2.0 || 1.6 || .0 || 8.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22
| style="text-align:left;"| Weber State
| 33 || 32 || 33.9 || .541 || .354 || .800 || 10.6 || 2.5 || 1.8 || .1 || 12.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23
| style="text-align:left;"| Weber State
| 32 || 31 || 36.3 || .462 || .303 || .813 || 10.9 || 3.8 || 1.6 || .1 || 16.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24
| style="text-align:left;"| Weber State
| 31 || 31 || 37.0 || .489 || .324 || .857 || 9.8 || 5.2 || 2.0 || .1 || 20.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 119 || 96 || 32.8 || .499 || .320 || .823 || 9.6 || 3.5 || 1.7 || .1 || 15.0
{{S-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{basketballstats|nba=1641794|bbr=j/jonesdi01}}
- [https://weberstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/dillon-jones/6655 Weber State Wildcats bio]
{{Oklahoma City Thunder current roster}}
{{Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}
{{2024 NBA draft}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dillon}}
Category:21st-century American sportsmen
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Columbia, South Carolina
Category:Oklahoma City Blue players
Category:Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks