Jonquel Jones

Jonquel Orthea Jones was born in Freeport, The Bahamas. She attended Tabernacle Baptist Academy before moving to Maryland at age 14, where she enrolled at Riverdale Baptist School. Diane Richardson, then a prominent basketball coach, became her legal guardian. At Riverdale Baptist, Jones developed into one of the leading post prospects in the United States. As a senior, she averaged 15.7 points and 15.6 rebounds per game, helped Riverdale Baptist finish 35–2, and won Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year, Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year, and Gazette Player of the Year.

Jones began her college career at Clemson in 2012–13. She played eight games before transferring, averaging 9.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. She then moved to George Washington, where she became one of the strongest rebounders in college basketball. After becoming eligible during the 2013–14 season, she averaged 14.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 23 games.

Her junior season at George Washington in 2014–15 brought major recognition. Jones averaged 15.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks while leading the Atlantic 10 in rebounding. She was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the fourth player in conference history to win both awards in the same season. She also earned Associated Press and WBCA All-America honorable mention and led George Washington to the Atlantic 10 championship.

As a senior in 2015–16, Jones led the nation in rebounding with 14.6 rebounds per game while averaging 16.2 points and 3.3 blocks. Despite missing part of the season with a shoulder injury, she finished her George Washington career ranked third in programme history in rebounds, fifth in blocks, and became the third Colonial to record at least 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, and 100 blocks. She was selected sixth overall in the 2016 WNBA Draft, becoming George Washington’s first first-round WNBA selection.

Jones entered the WNBA in 2016 after her draft rights were traded from the Los Angeles Sparks to the Connecticut Sun. As a rookie, she played a reserve role, averaging 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. In 2017, she became a starter and had a major breakout season. She recorded 23 points and 21 rebounds against the Chicago Sky, becoming one of the few players in league history to produce a 20-point, 20-rebound game. She finished the season averaging a double-double, led the league in rebounding, set a then-WNBA single-season rebounding record with 403 rebounds, earned her first All-Star selection, and won Most Improved Player.

In 2018, her role shifted to include more bench minutes, but she remained highly productive and won WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year. In 2019, she returned to a full-time starting role, again led the league in rebounding, led the WNBA in blocks, was selected as an All-Star, and helped the Connecticut Sun reach the WNBA Finals. The Sun lost to the Washington Mystics in five games, but Jones had established herself as one of the league’s leading interior players.

Jones opted out of the 2020 WNBA season during the COVID-19 pandemic. She returned in 2021 and produced the strongest individual season of her career. She averaged 19.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks while leading Connecticut to the best regular-season record in the league. She was named WNBA MVP, All-WNBA First Team, and WNBA All-Defensive First Team.

After the 2022 season, Jones requested a trade and was dealt to the New York Liberty in January 2023. With New York, she adjusted to a new roster while becoming a key frontcourt presence. She won the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup and was named Commissioner’s Cup MVP after recording 16 points and 15 rebounds in the final. The Liberty reached the 2023 WNBA Finals but lost to the Las Vegas Aces.

In 2024, Jones helped the Liberty win the first WNBA championship in franchise history. She was named WNBA Finals MVP after a strong series against the Minnesota Lynx, including 17 points in the decisive Game 5 overtime win. Her championship with New York added the major team title that had eluded her during her Connecticut years.

Jones has also built a significant overseas career. She played for Asan Woori Bank Wibee in South Korea, Shanxi Flame and Inner Mongolia in China, UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, Çukurova Basketbol in Türkiye, Sichuan Yuanda in China, and Fenerbahçe. Her overseas career includes a WKBL championship, WKBL Foreign MVP, and major club experience across several of the strongest women’s basketball leagues.

Jonquel Jones represents Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally after gaining Bosnian citizenship in 2019. She made her national team debut during EuroBasket Women 2021 qualification on November 14, 2019, against Russia. In that game, she recorded 29 points and 16 rebounds, helping Bosnia and Herzegovina defeat Russia.

At EuroBasket Women 2021, Jones became one of the tournament’s standout players. In the quarterfinals against France, she recorded 29 points and 24 rebounds, setting the all-time single-game rebounding record for EuroBasket Women. Her performances earned her selection to the EuroBasket Women All-Tournament Team.

Her international career with Bosnia and Herzegovina was notable because it elevated the team’s profile on the European stage. Jones provided elite rebounding, scoring, rim protection, and frontcourt presence. In 2022, it was reported that she would no longer represent Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the national team’s naturalised-player spot moving to another player.

Jonquel Jones plays as a power forward and center. At 6 ft 6 in, she combines size with mobility, shooting range, rebounding, and rim protection. She is effective as a low-post scorer, pick-and-pop shooter, defensive anchor, and offensive rebounder. Her ability to stretch the floor while protecting the rim makes her a modern frontcourt player, and her rebounding has been one of the defining strengths of her WNBA career.

Jonquel Jones was born in Freeport, The Bahamas, to Ettamae and Preston Jones. She has two brothers, David and Tino, and four sisters, Danielle, Niya, Juanita, and Prestina. At age 14, she moved from The Bahamas to Maryland to continue her basketball development and later became one of the few Bahamian girls’ basketball players to earn a Division I scholarship directly from high school.

Jones is engaged to Dinesha, an entrepreneur associated with The Dollhouse Nail Company in Brooklyn. The couple became engaged in April 2023 and share a home in New York. Jones also has a Goldendoodle. Her public profile combines her Bahamian roots, Bosnian international career, and role with the New York Liberty.

Jonquel Jones’s legacy is defined by adaptability, international reach, and elite frontcourt production. She developed from a Bahamian high school prospect into a dominant college rebounder, then became one of the WNBA’s most complete bigs. Her career includes Most Improved Player, Sixth Woman of the Year, MVP, Finals MVP, and WNBA championship honours.

Her 2021 MVP season remains one of the clearest examples of her all-around impact, while her 2024 Finals MVP confirmed her ability to perform in championship moments. She also holds significance for Bahamian basketball, as one of the most accomplished players from The Bahamas in professional basketball. Her international representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina added a separate chapter to her career and included a EuroBasket single-game rebounding record.

Jonquel Jones’s college honours include Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, Associated Press and WBCA All-America honorable mention, Atlantic 10 Championship Most Outstanding Player, and multiple Atlantic 10 All-Conference and All-Defensive Team selections. At George Washington, she became one of the programme’s all-time leaders in rebounds, blocked shots, and scoring average.

In the WNBA, Jones has won the 2024 WNBA championship with the New York Liberty and was named 2024 WNBA Finals MVP. She won WNBA MVP in 2021, WNBA Most Improved Player in 2017, and WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year in 2018. She has been selected as a WNBA All-Star multiple times, earned All-WNBA First Team in 2021, several All-WNBA Second Team selections, WNBA All-Defensive First Team and Second Team honours, and led the league in rebounding three times. She also led the WNBA in blocks in 2019 and won the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup MVP.

Internationally, Jones was named to the EuroBasket Women 2021 All-Tournament Team after setting the single-game rebounding record with 24 rebounds against France. Overseas, she won the WKBL championship and received WKBL Foreign MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honours. She was also named Bosnian Sportswoman of the Year in 2021.

Jonquel Jones is a Bahamian-Bosnian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association. Born on January 5, 1994, in Freeport, The Bahamas, she plays as a power forward and center. Standing 6 ft 6 in, Jones is known for her rebounding, shot-blocking, interior scoring, three-point shooting, and ability to defend multiple frontcourt roles. She played college basketball at Clemson before transferring to George Washington, where she became one of the most productive players in programme history.

Jones was selected sixth overall in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, with her draft rights traded to the Connecticut Sun. She became one of the league’s leading frontcourt players with Connecticut, winning WNBA Most Improved Player in 2017, Sixth Woman of the Year in 2018, and WNBA MVP in 2021. She also became the first player in league history to win all three of those awards.

In 2023, Jones was traded to the New York Liberty, where she became a central part of the team’s championship core. She won the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup MVP and helped the Liberty win their first WNBA championship in 2024, earning WNBA Finals MVP. Internationally, she has represented Bosnia and Herzegovina after gaining citizenship in 2019. Her career includes WNBA, European, Asian, and national-team achievements.