Celtics Legend K.C. Jones Dies at 88; Hall of Famer Won 12 NBA Championships

Boston Celtics legend and Basketball Hall of Famer K.C. Jones died Friday at the age of 88.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps reported the news.

Jones was collegiate teammates with Bill Russell at the University of San Francisco, won eight NBA championships as a player and won 12 NBA championships in all, including his coaching career.

Jones' daughter, Bryna, announced K.C. died at 4:55 a.m. Friday and thanked everyone for sending their love.

The Celtics also shared the news:

Jones' death evoked plenty of reaction, including from Russell:

Jones' path to becoming a basketball legend started in college when he helped lead the Dons to back-to-back national championships in 1955 and 1956 and was a consensus All-American. He entered the NBA as a second-round draft pick in 1956 and played nine seasons with the Celtics.

During that time, he became a perennial champion who helped set up his talented teammates as a point guard and floor general. Some of those teammates included Russell, John Havlicek and Tom Heinsohn.

He averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game throughout his career.

Following his playing career, Jones transitioned into coaching. He was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Celtics and Detroit Pistons and a head coach for the Washington Bullets, Celtics and Seattle SuperSonics.

ESPN noted Jones' eight championships as a player place him third on the league's all-time list behind only Russell and Sam Jones. What's more, he is one of seven players to take home championships in the college ranks, the NBA and the Olympics, joining legends such as Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner and Clyde Lovellette.

Jones was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989.