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NBA NAMES JAMES JONES EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,
HEAD OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS

 

NEW YORK, July 9, 2025 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that James Jones, a three-time NBA champion as a player and an NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award recipient, has been appointed Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.  He will report to Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

 

Jones will oversee all Basketball Operations matters for the NBA, including the development of playing rules and interpretations, conduct and discipline, and policies and procedures relating to the operation of games.  He will engage with players, coaches, team executives and referees on the state of the game, style of play and playing rules issues.  In collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders, Jones will develop innovative strategies and solutions that sustain the highest level of play and competition.  He will replace Joe Dumars, who left the league office in April to become the New Orleans Pelicans’ Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.

 

“James is widely respected across the NBA for being an inspiring leader and the consummate teammate during his more than 20 years as a highly successful player and team executive,” said Spruell.  “With his exceptional relationship-building skills and deep basketball expertise, he is well suited to guide our efforts to shape the current and future direction of the NBA game.”

 

“I’m thrilled and honored to take on the responsibility of leading the Basketball Operations department,” said Jones.  “This is an exciting opportunity to pour my passion for the game into a new role and collaborate with so many talented professionals on driving the continued success and growth of the NBA.”

 

Jones joins the league office after working the last eight seasons in the Phoenix Suns’ Basketball Operations group.  He was hired as Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2017, officially named General Manager in 2019 and promoted to President of Basketball Operations/General Manager in 2022.  In May 2025, Jones transitioned to the role of Senior Advisor. 

 

As the Suns’ top basketball executive, Jones helped lead the franchise to four consecutive playoff berths.  That stretch started in the 2020-21 season, when Jones was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year as Phoenix finished with a 51-21 record, earned a playoff spot for the first time in 11 years and made its first NBA Finals appearance since 1993.  The following season, the Suns won a franchise-record 64 games and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals.

 

Jones joined the Suns immediately after completing his 14-year playing career in the NBA.  He played for the Indiana Pacers, Phoenix, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, appearing in 709 regular-season games and 148 playoff games.

 

Nicknamed “Champ,” Jones won two NBA championships with Miami (2011-12 and 2012-13) and one with Cleveland (2015-16).  Jones reached the NBA Finals in each of his final seven seasons, and he never played for a team that finished a season with a losing record.

 

Selected by the Pacers in the second round (No. 49 overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft, Jones shot 40.1% from three-point range for his career.  He ranked third in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage in 2007-08 (44.4) and seventh in 2010-11 (42.9).  Jones won the 3-Point Contest at NBA All-Star 2011 in Los Angeles.

 

During his playing tenure, Jones served as Secretary-Treasurer of the National Basketball Players Association from 2008-17.  The Miami native earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Miami, where he played basketball for four seasons.  In 2014, Jones was inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame. 

 

Jones and his wife, Destiny, have two daughters, Jadynn and Jodie, and a son, James.  

Mongolia to host FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2027

JULY 9, 2025 MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA today announced that Mongolia will host the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2027, from March 31 to April 4, in the heart of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where the rise of 3x3 basketball shows no signs of slowing down. Mongolia’s hosting of Asia’s biggest 3x3 event follows a recent landmark moment for Mongolian basketball, with more than 50,000 passionate fans turning up in Sukhbaatar Square for an unforgettable FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2025. The Mongolian women’s team thrilled local supporters with a remarkable run to the final, earning nationwide praise and recognition. Days after the event, the team was received by the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, and awarded an honorary athlete distinction in honour of their achievement. "Mongolia continues to prove itself as a true world-class hub for 3x3 basketball,” said FIBA 3x3 Managing Director Alex Sanchez. “The fans, the atmosphere, and the quality on the half-court make Mongolia the ideal host for the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2027. We are excited to return to Ulaanbaatar, ten years after Mongolia made history by staging the first-ever FIBA Asia Cup in 2017." This latest announcement marks another milestone in Mongolia’s impressive journey as a leader in 3x3 basketball development in Asia. Mongolia has continued to strengthen its reputation as a trusted and passionate host of major international 3x3 events such as the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup 2019, the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup 2024, annual FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series stop and FIBA 3x3 World Tour. The recent FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2025 showcased once again Mongolia’s incredible passion for 3x3 basketball and its ability to deliver world-class urban sporting events. USA's AJ Dybantsa named TISSOT Most Valuable Player JULY 6, 2025 LAUSANNE - USA's AJ Dybantsa was named the TISSOT Most Valuable Player of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 after leading his country to their record ninth junior world title. Dybantsa starred all tournament with his electric all-around game. He poured in 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in USA's win over Germany in the Final, 109-76, and averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the tournament. Christian Anderson, Mikel Brown Jr, Zak Smrekar, AJ Dybantsa, Hannes Steinbach It was the second time Dybantsa was named to an All-Star Five after earning top-five status from the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Dybantsa was joined on the SwissBorg All-Star Five by USA teammate Mikel Brown Jr, the Germany duo of Christian Anderson Jr and Hannes Steinbach and Zak Smrekar of Slovenia. Brown contributed 12 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists to USA's victory in the Final. For the event, the point guard tallied 14.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. Anderson had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals in the Final against USA. The point guard finished with 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Steinbach added another strong showing in the Final with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. The big man averaged 17.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Smrekar scored 20 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists in Slovenia's 91-87 win over New Zealand in the Third Place Game. For the competition, the forward averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. USA return to the top: Americans claim ninth FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup title JULY 6, 2025 LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - USA reclaimed their spot atop global basketball by taking home the crown at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 with a 109-76 victory over Germany in the Final. A crowd of 7,234 at Lausanne Arena saw the Americans put together a 22-2 run early in the second half to take control of the game. Morez Johnson Jr scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack of six USA players in double figures. USA had finished fourth at the 2023 edition and this year's group considered themselves a Redeem Team. And the Americans accomplished the mission. Germany had already secured their best-ever result at the competition just by reaching the Final. They could not keep up with the Americans' firepower and settled for second place. Hannes Steinbach had 19 points in the loss. AJ Dybantsa MVP AJ Dybantsa capped an impressive run to the title by winning the TISSOT Most Valuable Player award. Dybantsa collected 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in USA's win over Germany and averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Dybantsa was joined on the SwissBorg All-Star Five by teammate Mikel Brown Jr, the Germany duo of Christian Anderson and Hannes Steinbach as well as Zak Smrekar of Slovenia. Jordan Charles of Canada, New Zealand's Tama Isaac, Dayan Nessah of Switzerland, Roman Siulepa from Australia and Tyler Kropp from Argentina were selected for the All-Second Team while Danijel Radosavljevic of Slovenia was named as Best coach and USA's Jordan Smith Jr. took home the honor as Best Defensive Player. Slovenia took third place after staving off a fight from New Zealand to win 91-87 in the Third Place Game. Zak Smrekar and Vit Hrabar both scored 20 points and Urban Kroflic totaled 19 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists for Slovenia, who had never finished on the podium at a global event. Final Standings of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 1. USA 2. Germany 3. Slovenia 4. New Zealand 5. Canada 6. Australia 7. Israel 8. Switzerland 9. Serbia 10. France 11. Mali 12. Argentina 13. China 14. Cameroon 15. Dominican Republic 16. Jordan