By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

A STRONG showing during the National Basketball Association (NBA) preseason has paid big dividends for Bahamian big man Kai Jones.

The Los Angeles Clippers originally picked the athletic Bahamian centre up on an exhibit 10-day deal during the offseason, but after preseason play he secured the team’s final roster spot and a two-way deal.

The 6-foot-11 centre has been on the move since being waived by the Charlotte Hornets due to some questionable behaviour a year ago.

Since then, Jones was picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers on a 10-day deal last season, but the opportunity was short-lived as he sustained a hamstring injury before getting to show his true potential for the team.

He was then signed by Los Angeles just before their 2023-24 NBA postseason run but didn’t log any minutes with the team during that time. 

The former first rounder got a chance to prove himself once again with the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA preseason. He averaged eight points and five rebounds in 24 minutes during his preseason campaign to earn him the final Los Angeles Clippers roster spot.

Despite being unable to find an NBA home for some time, Jones had a strong run with The Bahamas senior men’s national basketball team during the first window of the FIBA AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers against Puerto Rico in February. He averaged 13.5 points per game, eight rebounds and 1.5 assists on 68.8 per cent shooting from the field in the home-and-away series. While with the Hornets, Jones put up 3.4 ppg, 2.7 rebounds while shooting 55.8 per cent from the field in 46 games played. The athletic Bahamian big was signed to a two-way deal along with NBA pros Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers.

The Clippers will play their season opener against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at 10pm in the newly-built Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.