DeLisha Milton-Jones

American basketball player

DeLisha Lachell Milton Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first team All American and SEC Player of the Year her senior season. Milton Jones began her professional career in 1997 with the Portland Power, who drafted her second overall in the American Basketball League (ABL). After the dissolution of the ABL in 1998, Milton Jones entered into the 1999 WNBA draft and was selected fourth overall by the Los Angeles Sparks. In her seventeen season WNBA career, she has played for the Los Angeles Sparks (1999–2004, 2008–2012), the Washington Mystics (2005–07), the San Antonio Stars (2013), and the New York Liberty (2013–14). Milton Jones is a two time Olympic gold medalist (2000, 2008) and a two time WNBA champion (2001, 2002) and has been selected to the WNBA All Star Game three times (2000, 2004, 2007).

Milton Jones was born DeLisha Lachell Milton in Riceboro, Georgia, in 1974. She attended Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, Georgia, where she played high school basketball for the Bradwell Tigers. Milton Jones graduated from Bradwell in 1993.

Milton Jones accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for coach Carol Ross's Florida Gators women's basketball team from 1993 to 1997. She was a four year letterman, and led the Lady Gators to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior in 1996–97, she was recognized as an All American by the Associated Press, Kodak and the Basketball Times; she was also the winner of the Wade Trophy and the Honda Sports Award for basketball, recognizing the best women's basketball player in NCAA Division I.

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG1993 94 Florida 29 339 48.7% 0.0% 61.2% 11.5 1.1 2.4 0.4 11.71994 95 Florida 33 444 56.8% 0.0% 61.8% 6.6 0.8 2.5 0.4 13.51995 96 Florida 30 462 47.9% 0.0% 69.0% 8.7 1.6 1.5 0.5 15.41996 97 Florida 33 613 56.3% 0.0% 75.6% 8.9 2.0 2.6 0.6 18.6Career125 1858 52.7% 0.0% 67.9% 8.9 1.4 2.2 0.1 14.9

Milton Jones represented the US at the 1997 World University Games held in Marsala, Sicily, Italy, in August 1997. The USA team won all six games, earning the gold medal at the event. Milton Jones averaged 10.3 points per game and recorded 14 steals, second highest on the team. as well as the U. S. women's teams that won world championships in 1998 and 2002.

Milton Jones was drafted second overall by the Portland Power in the 1997 American Basketball League (ABL) Draft. During her rookie season, Milton Jones played in all 44 games and started in 35 of them. She averaged 28.1 minutes per game, 8.5 points, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 4.9 rebounds. The ABL folded in December 1998. The Power played 13 games, all of which Milton Jones started. She averaged 29.2 minutes per game, 11.9 points, 2.0 assists, 2.4 steals and 9.8 rebounds.

In 1999, Milton Jones was drafted 4th overall by the Los Angeles Sparks. She would play the first six years of her career with the Sparks from 1999 to 2004, playing alongside Lisa Leslie. During her six year tenure with the Sparks, Milton Jones won two WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002. In 2005, she was traded to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Chamique Holdsclaw and a first round draft pick in the 2004 off season. On April 22, 2008, Milton Jones was reacquired by the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade for Taj McWilliams Franklin. In 2013, she signed with the San Antonio Silver Stars before being released and then signed by the New York Liberty. On July 9, 2014, Milton Jones was traded to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Swin Cash

In August 2015, Milton Jones played in her 497th WNBA game, a then league record for most WNBA games played (since been broken by Sue Bird). In 2016, Milton Jones was released by the Dream. In September 2016, Miton Jones officially announced her retirement.

In 2003, she won the Euroleague Championship with team Ekaterinburg in Russia. In the 2005–06 season, she won the Euroleague with Gambrinus Brno of the Czech Republic and for the season 2006–07 she signed a two year contract with Ros Casares Valencia of Spain. During the 2008–2009 WNBA off season, Milton Jones played for Ros Casares Valencia in Spain. for whom she also played during the 2007 08 off season.

She became the second woman (after Ashley McElhiney) to coach a men's professional basketball team when, in 2005, she took over the ABA's Los Angeles Stars. On March 29, 2017, she was named the head coach of Pepperdine Waves women's basketball replacing Ryan Weisenberg. In 2019, Milton Jones resigned from Pepperdine to become an assistant at Syracuse. On April 17, 2020, she was named head coach at Old Dominion University.

Milton Jones appeared in the 2000 movie Love and Basketball as Delisha Milton. In 2003, Milton Jones married Roland Jones.

Milton Jones has received numerous awards and honors, some of which are listed below.