James Joseph Paxson Jr. (born July 9, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. A 1st round selection (12th pick overall) of the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in the 1979 NBA draft, Paxson played for Portland and the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

of the NBA from 1979 to 1990 and was twice an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

. Paxson served as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

for six years and now works as a consultant with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

where his brother John Paxson is an executive.

Pre-NBA

Paxson, a guard-forward born in

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The city had a population of 57,862 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous suburb in the Dayton metr ...

and the son of former NBA player Jim Paxson Sr., played college basketball at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

. When the older Paxson tried out for the

Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I level. The football team ...

, he couldn't afford to buy athletic shoes, so athletic director

Thomas Frericks The Thomas J. Frericks Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is the home of the University of Dayton Flyers volleyball teams. History Before 1950, the Flyers men's basketball team played its home game ...

loaned him a pair. Paxson was a three-time team MVP and earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors as a senior after averaging more than 23 points per game. He also averaged 17 points as a junior and 18 points as a sophomore at Dayton.

Career

The 6-foot-6 Paxson was an

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

in 1983 and 1984. He also earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 1984 after averaging 21 points per game. He spent nine seasons with Portland (1979–1988) and, after being traded to Boston in February 1988, spent two full seasons with Boston (1988–1990). When he was traded from Portland, he left as the team's all-time leading scorer.

Post-playing career

After retiring in 1990 at the age of 32, Paxson joined Portland's front office as assistant general manager. In September 1998, he was named vice president of basketball operations for the

. He was promoted to general manager in 1999, serving in that position until he was fired in April 2005. The Cavaliers won 185 games and lost 307 games in the six years Paxson was general manager. In July 2006, Paxson, the older brother of former

guard and former Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of basketball operations John Paxson, was hired as a consultant for the Bulls. Paxson was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1998. In 2004, he was named to the University of Dayton's All-Century Team.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 72 , , – , , 17.6 , , .411 , , .045 , , .711 , , 1.5 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 79 , , – , , 34.2 , , .536 , , .067 , , .734 , , 2.7 , , 3.8 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 82 , , 82 , , 33.6 , , .526 , , .229 , , .767 , , 2.7 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , 81 , , 33.8 , , .515 , , .160 , , .812 , , 2.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 81 , , 81 , , 33.2 , , .514 , , .288 , , .841 , , 2.1 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 21.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 68 , , 57 , , 33.1 , , .514 , , .154 , , .790 , , 3.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 17.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 75 , , 31 , , 25.7 , , .470 , , .323 , , .889 , , 2.0 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 72 , , 1 , , 25.0 , , .460 , , .265 , , .806 , , 1.9 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 17 , , 1 , , 15.5 , , .402 , , .375 , , .778 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 28 , , 2 , , 19.2 , , .492 , , .154 , , .885 , , 1.0 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 7 , , 20.0 , , .454 , , .167 , , .816 , , 1.3 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 25 , , 17.8 , , .453 , , .250 , , .811 , , 1.1 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 784 , , 368 , , 27.2 , , .498 , , .225 , , .807 , , 2.0 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 14.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 0 , , 15.5 , , .625 , , – , , .500 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 10.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 3, , –, , 14.7, , .313, , –, , 1.000, , 1.3, , 1.0, , .7, , .3, , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 1, , –, , 4.0, , .000, , –, , –, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .0, , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 7, , –, , 37.1, , .586, , .500, , .758, , 2.1, , 2.6, , 1.3, , .1, , 23.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 5, , –, , 34.4, , .513, , .200, , .825, , 3.8, , 2.4, , .4, , .0, , 22.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 9, , 0, , 23.6, , .465, , .300, , .792, , 2.2, , 2.3, , .7, , .0, , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 4, , 0, , 17.8, , .378, , .333, , .800, , 1.0, , 3.8, , .8, , .0, , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;”, Portland , 4, , 0, , 23.5, , .406, , .000, , .889, , 2.3, , 3.3, , 1.3, , .0, , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 15, , 0, , 12.5, , .288, , .000, , .800, , .6, , .7, , .4, , .1, , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 5, , 0, , 12.4, , .500, , .000, , .750, , .0, , 1.4, , 1.0, , .0, , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 53 , , 0 , , 20.9 , , .463 , , .267 , , .808 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .1 , , 10.5

References

External links

Jim Paxson at NBA.com
@ basketballreference.com

– ''Sports Illustrated'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Paxson, Jim 1957 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Boston Celtics players Cleveland Cavaliers executives Dayton Flyers men's basketball players NBA All-Stars Sportspeople from Kettering, Ohio Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Ohio Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers executives Portland Trail Blazers players Shooting guards Small forwards 20th-century American sportsmen