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Looking forany autographJim Les
One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Jim Les: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you own something he signed — or you know who might — there is a note at the foot of this page.
Persistence was the whole game: waived by Atlanta, Philadelphia and Milwaukee before ever playing an NBA minute, Les was grinding through the CBA and the World Basketball League when the Jazz signed him in October 1988. He answered by playing all 82 games that season. Sacramento later got his best years — he led the NBA in three-point percentage in 1990-91 and was runner-up in the 1992 long-distance shootout. At Bradley he had compiled the second-most assists in NCAA history.
Coaching brought him back to Bradley as head coach from 2002, with a Sweet Sixteen run in 2006, and since 2011 he has led UC Davis, taking the Aggies to their first Division I NCAA tournament.
HOW HE CAME & WENTAn Atlanta draft pick in 1986, he came to Utah in 1988 after Milwaukee signed and waived him inside two days. He played all 82 games as Stockton's backup, then the Jazz waived him on November 6, 1989, a game into the next season, giving the role to Delaney Rudd.
- Full name
- James Alan Les
- Utah Jazz tenure
- 1988–90
- Position
- Guard
- Born
- 1963, Niles, Illinois
- Height
- 5′11″ (180 cm)
- Weight
- 165 lb (75 kg)
- College
- Bradley
- Drafted
- 1986, 3rd round (No. 70), Atlanta
A card. A photo. A program. A page from an old autograph book. Anything he put his name on.
You do not need to know what it is. Take a photo with your phone and send it to me. I will tell you what you have, for free, whether or not anything comes of it. I pay the postage both ways. I answer every message myself, usually the same day.
With the Jazz
JIM LES · 1988–90 · PER GAME| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | UTA | 82 | 9.5 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | .301 | .071 | .781 |
| 1989–90 | UTA | 1 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | .500 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 2 SEASONS | 83 | 9.5 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | .301 | .071 | .766 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Did you know
JIM LES · 8 NOTES- Led the NBA in three-point percentage in 1991, after leaving Utah.
- He finished runner-up to Craig Hodges in the NBA's Long Distance Shootout in 1992.
- In 1988 he starred in the World Basketball League, a circuit open only to players under 6-foot-5 — a rule built for a 5-foot-11 guard.
- For Saskatchewan in July 1990 he put up 38 points and 17 assists, hitting six of seven threes to rally his team from 16 down.
- His older brother Tom is still Bradley's all-time assists leader, and Jim followed him to the same school.
- At UC Davis he coached Tyrell Corbin, son of Tyrone Corbin, his Atlanta teammate and another name on this checklist.
- Before the 1989-90 season the Deseret News wrote that Les 'will try to keep his job of backing up Stockton, amid competition from second-round draft choice Junie Lewis and others.'
- Back in the CBA with the Santa Barbara Islanders he averaged 14.6 points and 9.8 assists, which brought Sacramento calling on two 10-day contracts at the end of 1990.