Jonquel Jones

Jonquel Orthea Jones is a professional Bahamian player and wears jersey no. 35 for the New York Liberty in the WNBA as of September 2024. According to her WNBA profile, she plays as a power forward/center; however, she can be seen scoring and grabbing rebounds from other positions too. According to a YouTube video of New York Liberty, her size, her strength, her mobility, and her footwork are all in one pack, and that’s what makes Jones unique. Jones was selected as the 6th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, but her rights were traded to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for a player and two draft picks.

Jones is also a naturalized athlete, and therefore she holds citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, allowing her to represent the country. She holds the record for most rebounds in a match against France in the 2021 EuroBasket with 24 rebounds.

Jonquel Jones’s Early Life

Jonquel Jones attended Tabernacle Baptist Academy in the Bahamas, where she first learned the basics of basketball by watching her dad, who used to coach a group of local boys. Her talent and passion for the game were first recognized by Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who encouraged Jones to move out of the Bahamas and go to the USA to further develop her skills and pursue her dream of becoming a professional basketball player. She joined Riverdale Baptist School after transferring and was looked after by her legal guardian, Diane Richardson, who was the head coach of the Temple women’s basketball team. Jones graduated high school in 2012.

After completing high school, Jones attended Clemson University in 2012 and played for the Clemson Tigers women’s basketball team. She played nine games for the Tigers, scoring 78 points and grabbing 80 rebounds. In 2013, she transferred to George Washington University in her sophomore year and played for the George Washington Revolutioners. Jones played 76 games for the Revolutionaries, scoring 1,171 points and averaging 15.4 points per game. Throughout her collegiate college, she averaged 12.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Jones ranked third all-time at George Washington in career rebounds, with a total of 961. She won the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year award and was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.

Jonquel Jones’s Personal Life

Jonquel Jones moved from the Bahamas to the United States when she was just 14 years of age to pursue her dream of becoming a professional basketball player. She mentioned that she likes to spend time with her family and friends. During her high school years, her nickname was Big Slim. Jones is also very fond of animals and owns two goldendoodle dogs. She shows strong support for the LGBTQ community and is open about her relationship with Dinesha Keeshone.

Jones stands 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall and weighs 215 lbs (98 kg), according to her WNBA profile. Her wingspan is 6 feet 10 inches (2.8 m) according to the NBA 2K25 Rating.

Jonquel Jones’s Family Background

Jonequel Jones was born on January 5, 1994, in Freeport, Bahamas. Jones’s parents are Ettamae and Prestone Jones. Ettamae Jones is an administrator/senior welfare officer in the Department of Social Service in the Bahamas. There is not much information about her father, but he used to teach basketball to a group of boys in the Bahamas. Jones is one of the seven children of her parents. She has two brothers, David and Tino Jones, and four sisters, Danielle, Niya, Juanita, and Prestina Jones.

After coming to the United States from the Bahamas, Danie Richardson became her legal guardian, who was also the women’s basketball head coach of Riverdale Baptist High School.

Jonquel Jones Social Media

Jonquel Jones is quite active on her social media accounts and likes to keep posting about her games and brand collaborations. She also posts pictures with her family members, her partner, and her two dogs. Jones’s Instagram handle is @jus242, and her X account (formerly Twitter) is @jus242. She has around 3.5k followers as of September on Facebook with the name Jonquel Q Jones.

Jonquel Jones’s Fiancée

Jonquel Jones is dating Dinesha Keeshone as of September 2024. Dinesha is a professional nail technician and the owner of The Dollhouse Nail Company in Brooklyn.

In 2019, she revealed that she is a lesbian and started showing strong support for the LGBTQ community. Jones and Keeshone decided to make their relationship public on June 18, 2022, when Jones posted a video on her Instagram handle. However, in 2023, when Jones and Keeshone went on a holiday at the Goldwyn Resort in the Bahamas, they got engaged and announced it on their Instagram handles. Jones, on her Instagram handle, posted a pic of them with a caption saying, “Thanks for making me my lowest days and being there for me through it all. You get my humor, you get my moods, you get my all” on July 11, 2022. Jonquel Jones and Dinesha Keeshone are yet to announce when they will get married.

Jonquel Jones Brand Ambassador

Jonquel Jones is the brand ambassador of BTC Northern Bahamas. Jones signed the contract to be the brand ambassador of BTC Northern Bahamas in 2017.

According to Jonquel's Instagram profile, she has collaborated with Nike to make a pair of women’s basketball shoes. The shoe name is KD17 x Jonquel Jones, which is available for purchase on the Nike website. The pair of shoes, which describe her origin as the island of Bahamas, were printed on the back of the shoe.

Jonquel Jones’s Career Statistics

Jonquel Jones has some of the best performances as a non-American player in WNBA history. Jones participated in the Women’s Korean Basketball League, where she played for Asan Woori Bank Wibee in 2017. She became the WKBL champion and won the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament award. As of September 2024, Jones and her team are playing in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs and won the first round, defeating the Atlanta Dream under head coach Sandra Anne Brondello.

Jones has also played for Shanxi Flame, UMMC Ekaterinburg, and Cukurova Basketball. She signed a contract with Inner Mongolia for the 2023-24 season. In October 2022, the head coach of the women’s national basketball team of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that Jones was no longer playing for the national team and Courtney Hurt would fill her place in the team.

The total WNBA career statistics of Jonquel Jones are mentioned below:

Jonquel Jones’s Achievements

Jonquel Jones has some of the most impressive career achievements in WNBA history. She won her first award when she received WNBA Peak Performer in 2017. She was also named WNBA Most Improved Player in the same year, allowing her to be in the first WNBA All-Star game. Jones is a five-time WNBA All-Star in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024. She became the 2019 WNBA blocks leader, where she played 34 games, blocking 68 times with an average of 2 blocks per game. She has also won three WNBA rebounding titles in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Jones was awarded the WNBA Most Valuable Player in 2021. The same year she was named to the All-WNBA First Team and WNBA All-Defensive First Team. She won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup and MVP of the tournament in 2023.

Jonquel Jones’s Contract

According to Spotrac, on April 10, 2016, Jonquel Jones was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks as their number one pick, but her rights were traded to the Connecticut Sun in the 2016 WNBA Draft. On February 11, 2020, she signed a two-year contract extension worth $375,500 with the Sun. On January 25, 2022, she again signed a two-year contract worth $416,150 with the team. On January 16, 2023, she was traded by the Connecticut Sun to the New York Liberty in a 4-team trade.

Jones signed a two-year contract with a guaranteed salary of $385,000 with the New York Liberty on February 18, 2024. She will receive an annual salary of $192,500. In the contract, it is mentioned that she will receive a base salary of $190,000, carrying a cap hit of $190,000 and a dead cap of $190,000. The contract will end in 2025, and she will become a free agent in the year 2026. Jones’s total WNBA career earnings are expected to be a little over $903,000.

According to an ESPN report, she mentioned in an interview that overseas leagues pay a lot compared to the WNBA. In 2023, she joined Inner Mongolia to participate in the WBCA; however, the contract details are not fully published.

Jonquel Jones’s Diet

There is no specific information available about Jonquel Jones’s diet. In an interview with espnW, she shared that her favorite is Caribbean food, and her top three favorite Bahamian dishes are conch salad, snapper, and baked chicken or barbeque chicken.

Jonquel Jones’s Car

According to her Instagram profile, Jones owns a Mercedes-Benz Blanco. She purchased her car in the month of June 2022. Jones mentioned in her post that it was her first car and dream car.

Jonquel Jones House

There is no available information about Jonquel Jones’s house. According to her college profile, her hometown is Freeport, Bahamas, she moved to the USA when she was just 14 years of age to live with Diane Richardson and her family in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.