Background and career
Dahntay Lavall Jones (born December 27, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Duke Blue Devils. Jones played in the NBA as a small forward and shooting guard from 2003 to 2017. He won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Jones grew up in Hamilton Square, New Jersey, and starred at Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, from 1995 to 1998. He earned a McDonald's All-America honorable mention honor as a senior after averaging 24 points and 9 rebounds per game at Steinert.
After playing college basketball at Rutgers in his freshman and sophomore years, Jones transferred to Duke, where he earned All-ACC Honorable Mention honors in 2002 after averaging 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists as a junior. In his senior season, he played 33 games, averaging 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
Jones was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 20th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and his rights were later traded, along with the rights to Troy Bell, to the Memphis Grizzlies for the rights to Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks. On November 21, 2003, he made his professional debut in a 98–97 win over the Seattle SuperSonics, recording one rebound, one assist and two blocks in eight minutes off the bench. In four professional seasons for the Grizzlies, Jones averaged 5.0 points per game.
On September 27, 2007, Jones signed with the Boston Celtics. However, he was later waived by the Celtics on October 25. On December 10, he signed with the Sacramento Kings. Four days later, he made his debut with the Kings in a 109–99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, recording one assist and two steals in seven minutes off the bench. On February 16, 2008, he was waived by the Kings.
On March 21, 2008, Jones was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. That night, he made his debut for the Mad Ants in a 125–102 loss to the Dakota Wizards, recording 18 points in 31 minutes.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
