For Minnesotans, the name Tyus Jones is equivalent to what LeBron James is to basketball. “Before he [Tyus] was a junior in high school, if you typed Apple Valley into Google, it showed up Apple Valley, California. Now it shows up Apple Valley, Minnesota,” the Wizards’ guard’s older half-brother, Jadee Jones, said in 2017. Clearly, the impact of the second of the Jones boys was far and wide-reaching. And why wouldn’t it?

The 28-year-old was practically a legend in his hometown! So much so that the Mayor of Apple Valley declared April 22nd as “Tyus Jones Day,” after the Duke product led his team to an NCAA title in 2015 and entered the NBA Draft. Then again, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, we suppose. Jones is, after all, part of a rich basketball heritage.

Tyus Jones and his basketball roots

If you ask Tyus who was the most influential figure in his basketball arc, he’d immediately point to Jadee. 10 years older than Tyus, he was pretty much fluctuating between being a father figure and a friend. A former Division I basketball player, Jadee’s dream of being a basketball trainer took off with Tyus and his younger brother Tre Jones. Having graduated from Mankato in 2009 with a degree in Health and Exercise Science, he arrived just in time to help Tyus.

“[Jadee] has sacrificed so much just trying to help me and Tre become the best basketball players we can be and achieve our goals and dreams. He’s someone who is extremely smart, knows the game, studies the game, and knows the body. I’m thankful to have an older brother like that in my corner,” Tyus Jones once recounted. By now, you must have gotten an idea of who Tre is.

Aside from being the younger brother of Mr. Minnesota Basketball, the youngest Jones is also part of the San Antonio Spurs. The 24-year-old was selected as the 41st pick in the 2020 Draft Night. Both brothers are Duke alums. If you thought this was all the Jones brothers, then we have another surprise for you. There is a third half-brother, Reggie Bunch, a 6’6 forward who played at Robert Morris University. You can relax now. No more surprises. But Tyus’ basketball lineage does not end here.

His father, Rob Jones, competed at Division III Wisconsin-Parkside while his mother Debbie, was a state title holder in North Dakota as a point guard. Jones also has an aunt, Darcy Cascaes, who won two championships with Devils Lake High School and was an all-conference guard at the University of North Dakota. And yet another prominent Minnesota face, Al Nuness, Jones’ uncle, was the captain of the Minnesota Gophers in the 1960s. The eldest son of Al, Jared Nuness, Tyus’ cousin, was just as good on a basketball court as the rest of the family.

We are well and truly done with the roots section of Tyus Jones. And now, let’s move to his accolades.

The well-deserved accolades of Jones

What were you and I doing in eighth grade? Yeah, think about that for a moment while we tell you what Tyus did. He was the varsity starter for Apple Valley High School, averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 assists per game, successfully leading the team to a 20-8 record and starting in every one of them. Yup! Let that seep in. So we ask you again – what were you doing as an eighth grader? He continued in his starting point guard position for five years with Apple Valley and led them to their first state title.

Furthermore, Jones won the AAU national championship and three gold medals with USA Basketball in 2011, 2012, and 2014. There was no doubt that he’d be the McDonald’s All-American in 2014, either. And of course, in the process with Duke, he won the national championship, earning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. But that wasn’t all. He was also named to the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Not too soon after, Tyus was selected as the first-round 24th pick in 2015 Draft Night.

The NBA contracts of Tyus

Although he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, almost like a dream come true, Tyus was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves that very night in return for Cedi Osman, Rakeem Christmas, and a 2019 2nd-round pick. A month after that, the Wolves signed Jones to a 2-year $2.62 million contract, alternating his time between Minnesota and the Idaho Stampede, the D League affiliate of the Utah Jazz.

A year later, Minnesota proceeded to exercise the team option, signing Tyus Jones to a $1.4 million option for 2017-2018. This repeated the next year, as the Wolves once again exercised the $2.44 million option for the 2018-19 season. And for the last time, in 2019, Minnesota extended the $3.57 million qualifying offer, as the young guard became a restricted free agent. On July 11, 2019, Tyus said an emotional goodbye to his hometown team and joined the Memphis Grizzlies on a 3-year $26.4 million contract. He spent almost 3.5 years with the Grizzlies before he was traded to Washington as part of a three-team trade.

In July 2022, he signed a two-year $29 million contract with Memphis. Although he was set to be an unrestricted free agent in the 2024-25 season, Tyus Jones made it clear that if the Wizards would have him back, he would be more than happy to return to DC. His family loves the place and more importantly, he believes he can finally play a starting guard instead of a backup.

For now, though, Tyus remains one of the hottest free agents remaining. And while the Lakers are encouraged to pursue him, so far there haven’t been any updates on any such moves. If Los Angeles does have any such plans, they’d better act fast. Someone of Tyus Jones’ caliber isn’t likely to stay free for long. The loaded free agency this year certainly had put him at a disadvantage.

Given how that noise has subsided, the former Duke product won’t find himself short of suitors for long.