Kai Jones
Kai Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 19, 2001 Nassau, Bahamas |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Known for | Basketball career with Texas Longhorns, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks |
Kai Martinez Jones (born January 19, 2001) is a professional basketball athlete from the Bahamas, most recently affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career was spent with the Texas Longhorns.
Early life
Jones was born in Nassau, Bahamas and relocated to the United States at age 11. After completing his sophomore year of high school, he went back to the Bahamas with intentions of pursuing a career in long jump. At 15, following a significant growth phase, he began participating in organized basketball.
High school career
In 2017, Jones took part in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Americas camp held in Nassau and trained alongside top prospect Deandre Ayton, which motivated him to continue basketball development in the U.S. For the 2017–18 academic year, he enrolled at Orlando Christian Prep in Florida, where he played with highly ranked recruits Nassir Little and C. J. Walker. Together, they contributed to winning the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state title. Jones maintained an intense training schedule, waking up at 4:45 a.m. daily, while achieving academic excellence with a 4.2 GPA and graduating summa cum laude.
During summer 2018, he participated in the NBA Global Camp in Italy. Following high school graduation, Jones completed a postgraduate year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. In February 2019, he was selected for the National Prep Invitational all-tournament team and played a key role in Brewster’s capture of the USA National Prep Championship in March.
Recruiting
Jones committed to play college basketball at Texas on October 15, 2018, opting for the Longhorns over other offers from prominent NCAA Division I programs such as Arizona, Kansas, and Oregon.
College career
Coach Shaka Smart lauded Jones for possessing the strongest work ethic among all big men he coached. Although his freshman year saw limited playing time initially, Jones gradually earned more minutes on the court, highlighted by an efficient performance scoring eight points on 4–5 shooting within just 10 minutes during a victory against McNeese State on November 30. His freshman averages were 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On January 26, 2021, Jones achieved his first double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds despite an 80–79 loss to Oklahoma. He received recognition as the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year and garnered All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades. During his sophomore season, he averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. On March 24, 2021, Jones declared for the 2021 NBA draft.
Charlotte Hornets (2021–2023)
Selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, Jones was immediately traded to the Charlotte Hornets. He officially signed with Charlotte on August 3.
On September 30, 2023, it was announced that Jones would not take part in training camp, with no specified timeline for his return. This development followed unusual activity on social media platforms including criticism directed at teammates, disjointed statements, and declarations claiming himself as the greatest player ever.
Jones publicly requested a trade via X on October 9, 2023; two days later, Charlotte waived him. With no team claiming him off waivers afterward, he became a free agent. Over two seasons with the Hornets, he averaged 2.7 points across 9.1 minutes per game.
Delaware Blue Coats (2024)
On March 15, 2024, Jones inked a 10-day deal with the Philadelphia 76ers but participated exclusively with their G League team, the Delaware Blue Coats.
Los Angeles Clippers (2024–2025)
Jones joined the Los Angeles Clippers on April 14, 2024, for the remainder of that season. He secured a new contract on July 9, 2024, which was later converted into a two-way contract on October 19. The Clippers released Jones on March 1, 2025.
Dallas Mavericks (2025)
On March 2, 2025, Jones agreed to a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He made his debut the following day, contributing 21 points, eight rebounds, and one block off the bench during a 122–98 defeat against the Sacramento Kings.
National team career
Jones competed for the Bahamian junior national squad at the 2019 Centrobasket Under-17 Championship held in the Dominican Republic, where his team placed seventh out of eight participants.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte | 21 || 0 || 3.0 || .643 || .500 || .375 || .5 || .2 || .0 || .1 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte | 46 || 0 || 12.0 || .558 || .211 || .731 || 2.7 || .3 || .4 || .7 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 28 || 0 || 7.4 || .722 || .000 || .750 || 1.6 || .4 || .2 || .5 || 2.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 12 || 6 || 21.7 || .836 || .333 || .700 || 6.6 || 1.3 || .8 || .8 || 11.4 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 107 || 6 || 10.1 || .671 || .231 || .682 || 2.4 || .4 || .3 || .5 || 3.5
College
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20 | style="text-align:left;"| Texas | 27 || 10 || 16.7 || .500 || .292 || .636 || 3.2 || .4 || .5 || 1.1|| 3.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21 | style="text-align:left;"| Texas | 26 || 4|| 22.8|| .580|| .382|| .689|| 4.8|| .6|| .8|| .9|| 8.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 53||14||19.7||.553||.345||.677||4.0||.5||.7||1.0||6.2