Kai Jones
24-Year-Old
Free Agent
2024 Stats
PTS
5.0
REB
3.1
AST
0.6
STL
0.4
BLK
0.6
ROS Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
After declining his team option, the Clippers re-signed Jones to a non-guaranteed deal this offseason. The talented big man missed Summer League action due to an ankle injury but should be healthy for training camp, where he'll have to impress to earn a regular-season roster spot. Ivica Zubac is the incumbent starting center and will have a major role, but he won't play over 30 minutes a night. The Clippers signed Mo Bamba to compete with Jones for the top backup spot, and it's also possible Nicolas Batum plays some small-ball center at times. Nothing with Jones is guaranteed, not even his contract, but there is a path to playing time if he stays healthy, avoids off-court issues and has a few things break his way. Across 67 career regular-season appearances, Jones has averaged 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals per 36 minutes, but he's never played extended minutes consistently. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Mavericks in March of 2025. 
Posts 18 points from bench
Jones supplied 18 points (9-9 FG, 0-1 FT), seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal over 20 minutes before fouling out of Saturday's 135-104 loss to the Clippers.
ANALYSIS
With Daniel Gafford (knee) sitting out in the second leg of a back-to-back set and with head coach Jason Kidd pulling most of his key rotation players out of the game by the midway point of the fourth quarter in the blowout loss, Jones was the beneficiary of some extended playing time. He made the most of the extra run by delivering a perfect shooting performance from the field while contributing in the defensive categories, but Jones shouldn't be expected to provide much fantasy value over the final week of the regular season. The two-way player is eligible to suit up in just one of the team's final three games, though he could be available for all of those contests if Dallas upgrades him to a standard NBA deal when the team is first able to do so Thursday. Even if that's the case, Jones won't be guaranteed a spot in the rotation with Dereck Lively, Anthony Davis and Gafford expected to be available for all three of those contests and likely to handle nearly all of the minutes at center.
With Daniel Gafford (knee) sitting out in the second leg of a back-to-back set and with head coach Jason Kidd pulling most of his key rotation players out of the game by the midway point of the fourth quarter in the blowout loss, Jones was the beneficiary of some extended playing time. He made the most of the extra run by delivering a perfect shooting performance from the field while contributing in the defensive categories, but Jones shouldn't be expected to provide much fantasy value over the final week of the regular season. The two-way player is eligible to suit up in just one of the team's final three games, though he could be available for all of those contests if Dallas upgrades him to a standard NBA deal when the team is first able to do so Thursday. Even if that's the case, Jones won't be guaranteed a spot in the rotation with Dereck Lively, Anthony Davis and Gafford expected to be available for all three of those contests and likely to handle nearly all of the minutes at center.
NBA Per Game Stats
Per Game
Total
Per 36
NBA Per Game Stats
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2024 NBA Game Log
2024
2022
2021
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats
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By Month
Starting/Off Bench
Days Rest
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By Result
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats
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Advanced Stats
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Stat Review
2024
2022
2021
How does Kai Jones compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
73.9%
Effective Field Goal %
72.2%
3-Point Attempt Rate
5.6%
Free Throw Rate
33.3%
Offensive Rebound %
8.3%
Defensive Rebound %
16.7%
Total Rebound %
12.6%
Assist %
6.5%
Steal %
1.3%
Block %
6.1%
Turnover %
16.2%
Usage %
14.9%
Fantasy Points Per Game
6.4
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.9
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
Historical ADP
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
After barely seeing the floor during his rookie season, Jones was unable to take any significant strides during the 2022-23 campaign. Playing behind both Mark Williams and Nick Richards, as well as Mason Plumlee for a sizeable chunk of the season, Jones simply couldn't get onto the court. He ended by playing in 46 games, averaging 11.9 minutes per outing. In that time, he put up 3.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 combined steals and blocks. His upside is on the defensive end, meaning he wouldn't necessarily need to play huge minutes to sniff fantasy value. Unfortunately, Williams is the center of the future in Charlotte, while Richards is a more than proven number two. At this point, Jones will find it difficult to put up value, even in deeper formats.
More Fantasy News
Shifting to bench
Jones will come off the bench Monday night against the Nets, Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Strong two-way effort
Jones closed Saturday's 120-119 victory over Chicago with 15 points (7-8 FG, 1-1 FT), seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and four steals in 31 minutes.
ANALYSIS
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Gets green light
Jones (hip) will play Saturday against the Bulls.
ANALYSIS
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Questionable for Saturday
Jones (hip) is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against the Bulls.
ANALYSIS
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Won't return vs. Orlando
Jones won't return to Thursday's matchup against the Magic due to a left hip contusion. He'll finish the game with four points (2-2 FG), five rebounds and one block across seven minutes.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Future with team uncertain
Jones hasn't participated in any optional player sessions ahead of training camp, and it's not clear if he'll be on the floor for the start of camp with the Hornets, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer reports.
ANALYSIS
The 2021 first-round pick has struggled to carve out a consistent role during his first two NBA seasons, and some odd social media posts over the last few weeks raised concerns about his mental health. Hornets coach Steve Clifford wouldn't clarify Jones' status with the team during a media luncheon Tuesday but did indicate the team was aware of the posts. "It's a situation that's been handled internally," Clifford said. Charlotte has until the end of October to decide whether to pick up its option on Jones for the 2024-25 season.
The 2021 first-round pick has struggled to carve out a consistent role during his first two NBA seasons, and some odd social media posts over the last few weeks raised concerns about his mental health. Hornets coach Steve Clifford wouldn't clarify Jones' status with the team during a media luncheon Tuesday but did indicate the team was aware of the posts. "It's a situation that's been handled internally," Clifford said. Charlotte has until the end of October to decide whether to pick up its option on Jones for the 2024-25 season.