When the Oklahoma City Thunder used their first round pick on Baylor’s Perry Jones III in 2012, it seemed like a steal. A versatile forward at 6-foot-11, Jones had helped the Bears go 30-8 in his second and final season with the program. For just the third time in team history, Baylor made it all the way to the Elite Eight in the subsequent NCAA Tournament.
Had there not been concerns about his knee entering the draft, he would’ve likely been a lottery selection.
As it often happens, Jones didn’t have the career the Thunder had hoped for. In fact, he was out of the league after just three seasons. In that time, he averaged just 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Yet, the story behind Jones’s downswing is much deeper than it looks on the surface.
Thunder First-Rounder Perry Jones Reveals Shocking Near Death Experience
“My second year, I got sick,” Jones tells Run Your Race host Theo Pinson. “I got sick. Like ‘I almost died’ got sick. I went to a dentist and this is like right before Summer League…
I had this virus spreading in my brain and like then like he gave me like at least a week and a half I probably would’ve had a fatal stroke or something. They caught it like it was like spreading up from my airway to my throat like to my brain. That’s why my mouth was like not opening and stuff like that.
“So, I woke up, my mom crying, my homies right there crying,” Jones recalls. “I’m like what’s going on like they say you could have died’… I remember sitting in the bed… I’m watching (the Thunder) play. ‘Yeah, Perry Jones isn’t here because of a toothache.’
I started crying immediately. I’m in the hospital bed fighting for my life.”
The Perry Jones Story
While spending most of his rookie season with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, Jones actually began getting playing time in Year 2. He was averaging 13.1 minutes per game in his first 55 games and had started in seven contests. He wasn’t able to produce statistically on a stacked roster. However, his length, skill, and defense made him akin to a glue player.
Surprisingly, Jones played just 6.2 minutes per game for the rest of the season. That offseason, he suffered from a life-threatening virus.
In 2014-15, Jones opened the season as a starter. In that time, he averaged 15.0 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3. He eclipsed the 20-point mark twice, scoring a career-high 32 points in his second game. It looked like his career was finally getting off the ground.
However, in his fifth game, he suffered a bone bruise that kept him out for the next 13 contests.
In the following offseason, the Thunder traded Jones to the Boston Celtics, possibly due to concerns about his long-term health. This was a move that he thought would give him the opportunity that he didn’t have in Oklahoma City. Instead, he was waived before the season even started, the Celtics unable to find a trade partner. At the time, Jones was spending time with a dying cousin, who passed away before Boston released him.
After that, Jones’s NBA career was effectively over. Even the G League and international routes haven’t been able to get him back in the Association. To that point, despite him suiting up for the G League as recently as 2021-22 and currently playing overseas, he hasn’t played an NBA game since Apr. 2015.
It’s truly tragic, but at least Jones has his health. He’s also still receiving opportunities to play the game he’s dedicated his life to. His story may not be perfect, but he can hold his head up high, especially as the truth about his NBA career comes to light.
