Steve Jones, former Portland Trail Blazers player dies at 75
Steve Jones, left, Bill Walton, Kobe Bryant and Mike Tirico on April 2, 2006 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Credit: NBAE /Getty Images / Noah Graham
PORTLAND, Ore. — Steve “Snapper” Jones, the former ABA and NBA player who had a long career in broadcasting, died Saturday after a lengthy illness. He was 75.
The Portland Trail Blazers said family members and friends confirmed that Jones died in Houston.
Jones was a three-time All-Star in eight ABA seasons, averaging 16.0 points in 640 regular-season games for Oakland, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, Carolina, Denver and St. Louis. He finished his career with Portland in 1975-76, averaging 6.5 points in 64 games in his lone NBA season.
“Steve was as positive and good-natured a broadcasting partner as I could have had,” Blazers broadcast partner Bill Schonely said. “He loved to call me ‘Pops’ as a nickname, and we worked very well together on Trail Blazers games during some of the early years of the franchise. He was a terrific guy.”
Born in Alexandria, Louisiana, but raised in Portland, Jones was a standout at Franklin High School, leading his squad to an Oregon state championship in 1959. He went on to star at Oregon.