![]() When Jones finished his Murray State career in 1992, he embarked on a 11-year NBA career that began with the Dallas Mavericks and ended with the Golden State Warriors. Jones was on the bench Monday night when the Nuggets vanquished the Miami Heat 94-89 at Denver's Ball Arena to win the series 4-1. The beginning of my coaching career, how I started from the bottom as a player development coach and worked my way up.Popeye Jones, assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets, became the first Murray State men's basketball alumni to win an NBA championship as a coach. “Then being a journeyman in the NBA, tearing my ACL, hurting my back. And then going to Murray State and doing all I did there. And then playing at Dresden High School and winning Mr. ![]() ![]() And then going to the junior high and playing. “You reflect back on not only your coaching career, but I reflected back on even when I was a kid on the playground in the small town of Dresden, Tennessee. “When the horn went off, it was a surreal feeling at first,” he explained. And now, ahead of ring night for the Nuggets, you can listen to that conversation with Jones - an assistant coach for the Pacers from 2013-2020 - at the bottom. On his love for the game, journey throughout the NBA, landing with the Nuggets and celebrating the title. The national TV broadcast captured an emotional Jones finding Jokic on the court, hugging him and simply repeating “thank you.”Ī few weeks later, I spoke with him for a Championship Conversation. After their Game 5 win over the Heat, the emotions came pouring out. “I had met my wife in Colorado, I love Colorado and I got married in the Rocky Mountains so I packed my things pretty quickly and got here,” he said.įast-forward to his second season in Denver. Working with MVP Nikola Jokic was even sweeter. “And they’ve always said the same thing: Yes, Popeye is former player but he works his butt off, he’s a student of the game, he’s coached offense and defense.” “Popeye was a guy that I always heard nothing but great things about, whether it was from Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers or Dan Burke, a friend of mine who I have great respect for,” Malone said. Malone, meanwhile, had interviewed Jones previously for his staff in Sacramento so there was already a connection there. Unseld called Jones and recommended him to Malone for the job. left the Nuggets to become the head coach of the Wizards, there was an obvious fit for Jones. The following season, after Wes Unseld Jr. However, Jones accepted a lesser role he was behind the bench for games. When the Pacers moved on from McMillan in 2020 and brought in a whole new staff, Jones and longtime assistant Dan Burke joined Doc Rivers in Philadelphia. He established himself as an assistant in Indy, first under Frank Vogel and then Nate McMillan. So it was a natural fit to go into coaching after playing.” “Even if they were ahead of me, I was always helping them and encouraging them, telling them things and trying to teach. “I never was one not to ever help young guys be successful in the NBA,” he said. To now, entering his third season on the bench with Michael Malone and the Nuggets, Jones has a whole new appreciation for the game.Ĭoaching was always in his future and he started grooming himself for a role during his final few years in the NBA, in Dallas and Golden State, since he wasn’t getting on the court. He then got into coaching and worked his way up from player development to assistant coach. ![]() He spent a decade playing in the NBA, in the ‘90s and early ‘00s. It’s been a long road for this NBA lifer. He texted that photo to his friends with the caption: “I’ve been chasing this girl for 30 years. Popeye Jones takes a family photo after winning the championship.Īfter the Denver Nuggets handled the Miami Heat 4-1 in the NBA Finals last June, assistant coach Popeye Jones posed for a photo proudly holding the championship trophy and a bottle of champagne in celebration.
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