When the Philadelphia 76ers made the move to convert G League MVP Paul Reed’s deal to a standard NBA contract, it left the team with a two-way spot to fill on its roster. The Sixers wasted little time in doing so, inking shooting guard Mason Jones to a two-way pact just after the trade deadline.
On Thursday, the 22-year-old Jones spoke with members of the media in Philly for the very first time. And while he covered a lot of ground during his brief media session, one thing stood out from his comments.
Namely, that he is hyped to have caught on with one of the Association’s top squads.
In Philly, he is part of a winning and established culture; a far cry from what he experienced at his first NBA home. Jones began his professional career with a Houston Rockets franchise in flux and bound for the lottery after James Harden’s departure earlier this season.
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Mason Jones Is Ready to Rock (and Win)
As relayed by Sports Illustrated’s All76ers, Jones has been picking up on some good vibrations since making the move to the Eastern Conference.
“The vibes are amazing. Everybody’s on the same vibes, they want to win, want to win a championship. You can just see that every day through practice, in the locker room, in the games, off the court, you know we’re together,” he said.
“It’s a good culture, starting from Doc Rivers down.”
Although the Rockets were still trying to establish their own culture, sans Harden, under first-year head coach Stephen Silas, Jones’ time with his old club was still fruitful. The 6-foot-4 guard saw action in 27 games with the Rockets, putting up nearly six points per contest and showing some legit chops as an outside shooter.
So far this season, he has connected on 23 of his 64 attempts (or 36 percent) from three-point range.
He also mastered the art of the flop:
Jones will have to fight for his minutes with a Sixers squad that has title aspirations. However, his shooting ability alone should give him at least a fighting chance to get on the floor each night.
In his Sixers debut on Sunday, Jones scored six points on a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor in just over nine minutes of play.
Jones’ Razorback Reunion
In addition to praising the team’s culture, Jones also expressed excitement that he’ll be on the same bench as another Sixers rookie — swingman Isaiah Joe. After all, the two were college teammates at Arkansas for two seasons from 2018 to 2020.
According to Jones, that history has manifested itself on the court since the two Razorbacks officially reunited last month.
“It’s crazy, every day they just see when we play together, they just see the chemistry. I know where Isaiah is gonna be, Isaiah know where I’m gonna be, when we play together they can tell we played together,” he said.
Although the Razorbacks failed to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament while they were there, Jones and Joe were undoubtedly one of the best duos in the SEC. During their final year in Fayetteville, the two combined to put up 38.9 points, nearly 10 rebounds and five assists per contest.
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