Damon Jones

• 1. Introduction

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  Damon Jones once told anyone who would listen that he was "the best shooter in the world." Not one of the best. Not among the best. The best. For a player who went undrafted in 1997 and spent years bouncing through ten different franchises, that level of self-belief might sound outrageous. But Damon Darron Jones, born on the 25th of August 1976, built a professional basketball life almost entirely around the three-point line, and for at least one remarkable season in Miami, he made a compelling case for that claim.

  From the ball courts of Ball High School in Galveston to the NBA Finals, from a journeyman role player to a championship-winning assistant coach, Jones carved out a career that defied the usual odds. Then, decades after his playing days ended, a federal investigation upended everything he had built.

• 2. The Undrafted Road

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  Ball High School's Golden Tornadoes gave Jones his first competitive stage. After graduating in 1994, he went to the University of Houston, where he played three years for the Cougars before declaring early for the 1997 NBA draft. No team selected him.

  Rather than walk away, Jones played for the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association during the 1998-99 season. That year proved decisive. He was named CBA Newcomer of the Year and earned a spot on the All-CBA First Team. Those honors gave him a foothold, and he began making his way through the NBA, stopping briefly at New Jersey, Boston, Golden State, Dallas, Vancouver, Detroit, Sacramento, and Milwaukee before finding anything resembling stability.

  He majored in sociology at the University of Houston, a detail that sits quietly alongside his on-court reputation as someone who thought deeply about spacing and his own value to a team.

• 3. The Miami Season

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  Before the 2004-2005 season, Jones signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with the Miami Heat. What followed was the single greatest stretch of his playing career. He set career highs across nearly every statistical category: 66 games started, 2,576 minutes played, 331 field goals made, and 955 points scored.

  His 225 three-point field goals made ranked third in the NBA that season and, at the time, tied Mitch Richmond for the ninth most ever in a single NBA season. His three-point percentage of 43.2% ranked fifth in the league that year. He also led the entire NBA in True Shooting Percentage at 62.5%.

  Jones scored a career-high 31 points on the 16th of February 2005, against the Los Angeles Clippers, and reached double figures in 48 games. His role was defined by his teammates. Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade drew constant double teams, leaving Jones alone beyond the arc, and he punished opposing defenses for ignoring him.

  In the 2005 playoffs, Jones averaged 12.1 points and 4.0 assists across 15 games, shooting 42.9% from three. His best postseason game came in the first round against the New Jersey Nets, where he scored 30 points and knocked down seven three-pointers in a single outing.

• 4. Cleveland and the Game-Winner

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  On the 8th of September 2005, Jones left Miami and signed a four-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a deal reported to be worth $16.1 million. His role shifted from featured contributor to specialist off the bench, but his presence still carried weight.

  On the 8th of March 2006, Jones hit a three-point field goal as time expired to give Cleveland a 98-97 win over the Toronto Raptors. Two months later came his most famous moment as a Cavalier. On the 5th of May 2006, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Washington Wizards, Jones came off the bench late in the contest. In his first minute of action, in overtime, he hit the shot that clinched the series four games to two. It sent the Cavaliers into the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1993.

  The following season, Jones was selected to compete in the Three-Point Shootout at the 2007 All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, finishing in fifth place. In November of that year, he scored a season-high 29 points on seven three-pointers. His partnership with LeBron James operated on the same principle that had defined his time in Miami: a generational talent drawing the defense, and Jones waiting on the perimeter.

  His time in Cleveland ended with a fine. On the 28th of December 2007, the team revealed it had fined Jones and teammate Ira Newble an undisclosed amount for refusing to come off the bench during the final minute of their Christmas Day win over the Miami Heat.

• 5. Life After Playing

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  In 2012, after a stint with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, Jones retired from playing. An attempt to sign with the Piratas de Quebradillas in the Puerto Rico Basketball League in March 2010 had lasted only four games. A deal with Aliaga Petkim in Turkey in February 2011 ended before it started when he failed the physical fitness test.

  In 2014, Jones joined the Cavaliers organization as a shooting consultant, working with both the NBA club and its development affiliate, the Canton Charge. During the 2015-16 season, he served as an assistant coach with the Charge. In April 2016, head coach Tyronn Lue brought Jones onto his coaching staff for the playoffs.

  The Cavaliers won the championship that year, defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games, becoming the first team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit. Jones was on the bench for all of it. In September 2016, he was promoted to a full-time assistant coaching role with the Cavaliers.

  In January 2006, while still playing, Jones had made history off the court as well: he became the first NBA player to sign a shoe contract with a Chinese company when he agreed to a two-year deal with Li-Ning. He also has a child with Tina Thompson, a WNBA star and inductee into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

• 6. The Federal Investigation

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  On the 23rd of October 2025, Jones was arrested by the FBI alongside Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Federal investigators tied all three to a sports betting and gambling scheme. FBI director Kash Patel was expected to speak on additional possible charges and arrests.

  On the 28th of April 2026, Jones pleaded guilty to two federal counts. One count was conspiracy to commit wire fraud in an NBA insider trading case. The other was related to a rigged poker game ring. With that plea, Jones became the first of 34 defendants in the case to enter a guilty verdict.