Jonquel Jones grew up a fan of the Detroit Pistons.
Their success during the early 2000s, known as the franchise’s “Goin’ to Work” era, inspired a young Jones.
The Pistons, anchored by Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben and Rasheed Wallace, went to six consecutive Eastern Conference finals from 2003-2008.
They went to back-to-back NBA Finals, winning it all in 2004.
But it wasn’t just the results that drew Jones in. It was the way the Pistons produced those results.
“I loved the way that they played,” Jones said Friday after shootaround. “I feel like it was a very different style for what was really popular back then.”
The Los Angeles Lakers had Kobe Bryant. The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted LeBron James in 2004.
The Pistons didn’t have an obvious individual superstar. But together, they shined.
Detroit relied on their chemistry and togetherness.
“I just felt like the Pistons were, to me they looked like a basketball team through and through,” Jones said. “They played that way and they all were rewarded for that, like, going to the All-Star game and being able to start the All-Star game with their starters, and I don’t know, just being a really successful team, Eastern Conference Finals, championships, all that stuff and they just played the right way, they moved the ball and they relied on each other and you saw it.”
With the Liberty’s lineup acting like a revolving door, Jones has gone back to what made that Pistons team she admired when she was a pre-teen.
Sabrina Ionescu is set to miss her third consecutive game — second with back soreness. That leaves Pauline Astier as the team’s only true point guard. But there are plenty of other players who can handle the facilitating responsibilities, including Jones.
“It’s just my game,” Jones said after tallying four assists in back-to-back games. “I’m the type of player, I see two or I see teammates open, I just want to move the ball because that’s just the type of basketball that I love to play. And I grew up being a huge Detroit Pistons fan, watching Rip and Tayshaun and Chauncey, and they played team ball and so that was always the type of basketball that I wanted to play, and I wanted to be a part of so I just try to play the way that I want our team to play.”
Jones probably embodies more of Rasheed Wallace’s skill set, with her accurate passing and ability to stretch the floor as a big.
Her favorite player of that Pistons’ era, though, was Hamilton.
“I know that probably nobody’s probably ever said that before, but Rip was my favorite,” she said. “But it was just that whole Pistons team, like, I feel like I could take a little bit of something from everybody. So Chauncey Billups, like, when I was younger I was a guard. Tayshaun, just getting up and down the court, ball handling, obviously just being elite in every level, Rip midrange, Rasheed Wallace tough in the paint. Ben Wallace rebounder. So I feel like you can kind of see aspects of each of those starters in my game now.”
The Liberty might be getting close to having an empty injury report but they will need Jones to continue to embrace the Pistons’ blue-collar grit and teamwork for the team to be successful.
“When JJ is aggressive, we’re a better team,” coach Chris DeMarco said. “Sometimes it’s more than that. Sometimes, there’s other variables throughout the game and maybe she hasn’t touched the ball, maybe defensively sees a couple bad calls, she’s in foul trouble, has to play differently, so sometimes it’s outside things that hurt her, but again, especially third quarter [Wednesday], she made that little run, she’s really aggressive. Ill say it again, she’s been fantastic.”
