If he’d walked from the gym and peeked his head outside, Bobby Jones would've seen a statue of himself.
Still, he fittingly talked at length Monday morning about role players.
A 2019 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Jones was at the Sixers’ practice facility as part of a celebration for the 1982-83 championship-winning team. The Sixers will honor the group at halftime of their game against the Bulls.
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In the ’82-83 season, Jones won the NBA’s inaugural Sixth Man of the Year award. He enjoyed excelling at his job, which included playing standout defense and chipping in with efficient scoring. Jones had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting, four steals and two blocks in the Sixers’ title-clinching win over the Lakers.
On the 2022-23 team, Jones has appreciated a veteran player who’s long understood there’s many ways to contribute to winning besides scoring.
“P.J. Tucker, to me, has made a huge difference for this team,” Jones said. “He doesn’t hold the ball very long; he gives it to somebody else. He knows his role. If he’s open, he’s going to take the shot. If not, he’s going to move the ball to somebody else and he’s going to knock three guys sideways to get the rebound and kick it out. Those kind of players make a difference. I think Georges Niang’s the same kind of player; he’s not going to back down from anybody. … So I just encouraged the players: ‘Know your role and fulfill your role.’
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“My role was not to shoot threes. I was 0 for 17 in my career from three; those were end-of-the-quarter, end-of-the-half shots. But my role was to hit an open shot from the elbow, or to play defense, or to get back. … I think our team figured out their roles — all of our players — and our bench especially was ready when it was time to play in the playoffs. I think this team’s the same way.
“They’ve got guys who come in if somebody’s out for a game or two. (Danuel House Jr.) had a big game the other day — stepped in and did well. (De’Anthony) Melton … all the guys just seem like they’re ready when called upon, so it’s fun to watch and I’m hoping for the best for the team.”
Jones, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, said he watches “every Sixers game that I can. There’s a connection there. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that.”
He’s clearly been impressed by Joel Embiid, who’s on track for a second straight scoring title and has displayed incredibly consistent two-way dominance. If he wins MVP, Embiid would be the first Sixers center to do so since the late Moses Malone in ’82-83.
“He reminds me a lot of Moses, Joel does,” Jones said. “He’s more focused, it seems like, this year — especially in the fourth quarter. … Just like Moses, when the ball comes in to him, it probably should not come back out. If he’s triple teamed, sure, he does do a better job than Moses did of kicking the ball out. But he has such an assortment of offensive skills — and he knows it — that he can impose his will on other players and other teams. He’s doing that, so that’s fun to see him embracing that role and really leading that way.”
Julius Erving, another one of Jones’ star teammates from ’82-83, mentioned Monday that the “Secretary of Defense” essentially told this year’s Sixers not to worry about officiating.
Jones shared a similar view on referees in his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech, thanking them for having “integrity and willingness to communicate to players about why a certain call was made.” What’s behind his exceptional attitude toward referees?
“I’ll share a story with you: This happened my last year in the league. I was playing in San Antonio, and the ball was going out of bounds and I tried to save it,” Jones said. “The ball did not tip off my fingertips, but the ref didn’t know that. So as he was going to receive the ball, he asked me, ‘Bobby, did you touch it?’ And I was shocked. So I get to play and ref the game. I said, ‘No, I didn’t touch it.’ And so he said, ‘OK, it’s red ball’ — we were the red team.
“And this is how things work out … two weeks later, the exact same situation happens. We were in Philly playing against the Nets and the ball goes out of bounds, and Billy Cunningham catches the ball out of bounds. But this time, it ticks off my fingertips. The same ref asks me the same question. He says, ‘Bobby, did you touch it?’ As I handed the ball to Billy, I said, ‘Yeah,’ and I just took off. And Billy just started stamping his feet: ‘Bobby, that’s his job! Let him make the call!’ I thought, ‘It is his job, but he asked me and I’m going to be truthful with him.’
“And I’ll say this: Any 50-50 call — and there’s so many calls in the league that are 50-50 — I got a lot of calls. I got a lot of breaks because they knew I wasn’t trying to be dishonest; I wasn’t trying to con anybody. I was just trying to do my job and be honest with it. I really felt like I got an advantage from that, so that was a blessing for me and my team. I told the players, ‘There are some bad refs out there. You’ve got to swallow it and respect them, and just know the bigger picture.’ The bigger picture is getting a ring, and getting the call when the time counts. Hopefully, they’ll do that.”
It’s difficult to imagine the present-day Sixers fully adopting Jones’ unique perspective and being sincerely unbothered by all whistles.
However, they seem entirely on board when it comes to the importance of role players.
“I can especially relate to that because buying into my role has kept me having a job for the last seven years,” Georges Niang said. “So I thought that was really cool because at the end of the day … an NBA team has seven or eight roles that need to be filled.
“And if you can fill one of those roles, you’ll play a long time. If you fill one of those roles on a championship team, you’ll be remembered forever."