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.
