The most noteworthy players from the old American Basketball Association (ABA) are players like Julius Erving and George Gervin. But the last two players from the league to play in the NBA were recent profilee Moses Malone (1995) and today's profilee, Caldwell Jones, who retired in 1990. Jones may not have had the stats of Malone, but in his own way, he carved a niche in the ABA and the NBA. Here's the profile.

Caldwell Jones was born August 4, 1950 in McGehee, Arkansas. After attended high school in McGehee, Jones followed family tradition by attending Albany State University. Jones had a good college career, averaging 20.5 PPG and 20.3 RPG during his four years there (under the guidance of his dad, Oliver; all four of his brothers played there at some point and also played in the NBA). The Philadelphia 76ers selected Jones with the 14th pick of the second round (32nd overall) in the 1973 NBA Draft, but Jones instead decided to play for the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA.

Jones made an impact in his first ABA season, averaging 15 PPG and 13.9 RPG in helping San Diego make the playoffs. His second season with them produced his best statistical season, with 19.5 PPG and 14.1 RPG. His third year (1975-76) was the last for the ABA, and he jumped from the Conquistadors (who folded) to the Kentucky Colonels to the Spirits of St. Louis, while maintaining a double-double average. After the league folded, Jones' rights were picked up by the Sixers, who retained their draft rights to him.

Jones' role changed in Philadelphia; with such stars as Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins, George McGinnis, and Doug Collins, he became a defensive-minded center, which the Sixers needed. Jones' best PPG season for the Sixers was 9.3 in 1978-79, but he averaged at least eight RPG in five of his six seasons there, was named All-NBA Defensive 1st Team in both 1980-81 and 1981-82, and even received a vote for league MVP in 1981. The Sixers reached the Finals twice during his tenure, but lost both time to the Los Angeles Lakers. After the second loss in 1982, Jones was traded to the Rockets along with a first round pick as compensation for the Sixers signing Moses Malone.

Jones enjoyed two solid stats seasons with the Rockets, averaging over 9 PPG and 7 RPG in both years, but the Rockets went just 14-68 and 29-53 (worst in the West both times) and Jones became a journeyman center. He signed with the Chicago Bulls, where he played just 42 games for the young Bulls (and a rookie named Michael Jordan), then joined the Portland Trail Blazers for a four year stay (1985-89). During this time, Jones was frequently called on for spot starts in the place of oft-injured center Sam Bowie and helped Portland reach the playoffs each year. His final season saw him play for the San Antonio Spurs, where he backed up David Robinson and was the oldest player in the NBA at 39 years of age. When he retired after the 1989-90 season, he scored 6,589 NBA points (3,652 in the ABA; 6.2 PPG and 15.8 PPG, respectively) and grabbed 7,663 rebounds (7.2 RPG in NBA; 3,022 rebounds and 13.1 RPG in ABA) and was the next-to-last former ABA player to play in the NBA. Very quietly, Caldwell Jones performed his role for whatever NBA team he was on, and did so without needing the glory that most players need to be effective.

Season-by-Season Statistical Review:
1973-74 (ABA): 79 GP, 15.0 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 46.5 FG%, 74.3 FT%
1974-75 (ABA): 76 GP, 19.5 PPG, 14.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 48.9 FG%, 78.8 FT%
1975-76 (ABA): 76 GP, 13.0 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 47.0 FG%, 75.3 FT%
1976-77: 82 GP, 6.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 50.7 FG%, 55.2 FT%
1977-78: 80 GP, 5.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 47.1 FG%, 62.7 FT%
1978-79: 78 GP, 9.3 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 47.4 FG%, 74.7 FT%
1979-80: 80 GP, 7.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 43.6 FG%, 69.7 FT%
1980-81: 81 GP, 7.2 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 44.9 FG%, 76.7 FT%
1981-82: 81 GP, 47 GS, 7.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 49.7 FG%, 81.7 FT%
1982-83: 82 GP, 82 GS, 9.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 45.3 FG%, 78.6 FT%
1983-84: 81 GP, 73 GS, 9.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.2 FG%, 83.7 FT%
1984-85: 42 GP, 32 GS, 3.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 0.8 APG, 46.1 FG%, 76.6 FT%
1985-86: 80 GP, 19 GS, 4.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 49.6 FG%, 82.7 FT%
1986-87: 78 GP, 37 GS, 4.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 49.6 FG%, 78.2 FT%
1987-88: 79 GP, 77 GS, 4.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.0 APG, 48.7 FG%, 73.6 FT%
1988-89: 72 GP, 40 GS, 2.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 42.1 FG%, 78.7 FT%
1989-90: 72 GP, 2 GS, 2.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.3 APG, 46.5 FG%, 70.4 FT%