 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-07-09)July 9, 1957 (age 68) Kettering, Ohio, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Archbishop Alter (Kettering, Ohio) |
| College | Dayton (1975–1979) |
| NBA draft | 1979: 1st round, 12th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Playing career | 1979–1990 |
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward |
| Number | 4 |
| Career history | |
| 1979–1988 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1988–1990 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,199 (14.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,593 (2.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,300 (2.9 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
James Joseph Paxson Jr. (born July 9, 1957) is an American former professionalbasketball player. A first round selection (12th pick overall) of thePortland Trail Blazers in the1979 NBA draft, Paxson played for Portland and theBoston Celtics of the NBA from 1979 to 1990 and was twice anAll-Star. Paxson served asgeneral manager of theCleveland Cavaliers for six years and now works as a consultant with theChicago Bulls where his brotherJohn is an executive.
Paxson, aswingman born inKettering, Ohio and the son of former NBA playerJim Paxson Sr., played college basketball at theUniversity of Dayton. When the older Paxson tried out for theDayton Flyers, he couldn't afford to buy athletic shoes, so athletic directorThomas Frericks loaned him a pair.[1] Paxson was a three-time team MVP and earnedAll-America 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.
The 6-foot-6 Paxson was anNBA All-Star 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.
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 theCleveland Cavaliers. He was promoted to general manager in 1999, serving in that position until he was fired in April 2005.[2] The Cavaliers won 185 games and lost 307 games in the six years Paxson was general manager.[2]
In July 2006, Paxson, the older brother of formerChicago Bulls guard and former Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of basketball operationsJohn Paxson, was hired as a consultant for the Bulls.[2] Paxson was inducted into theOregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.[3] In 2004, he was named to the University of Dayton's All-Century Team.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Portland | 72 | – | 17.6 | .411 | .045 | .711 | 1.5 | 2.0 | .7 | .1 | 6.2 |
| 1980–81 | Portland | 79 | – | 34.2 | .536 | .067 | .734 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 1.8 | .1 | 17.1 |
| 1981–82 | Portland | 82 | 82 | 33.6 | .526 | .229 | .767 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.6 | .1 | 18.9 |
| 1982–83 | Portland | 81 | 81 | 33.8 | .515 | .160 | .812 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 1.7 | .2 | 21.7 |
| 1983–84 | Portland | 81 | 81 | 33.2 | .514 | .288 | .841 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 1.5 | .1 | 21.3 |
| 1984–85 | Portland | 68 | 57 | 33.1 | .514 | .154 | .790 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 1.5 | .1 | 17.9 |
| 1985–86 | Portland | 75 | 31 | 25.7 | .470 | .323 | .889 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .1 | 13.1 |
| 1986–87 | Portland | 72 | 1 | 25.0 | .460 | .265 | .806 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.1 | .2 | 12.1 |
| 1987–88 | Portland | 17 | 1 | 15.5 | .402 | .375 | .778 | 1.1 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 6.1 |
| 1987–88 | Boston | 28 | 2 | 19.2 | .492 | .154 | .885 | 1.0 | 1.8 | .8 | .1 | 8.7 |
| 1988–89 | Boston | 57 | 7 | 20.0 | .454 | .167 | .816 | 1.3 | 1.9 | .7 | .1 | 8.6 |
| 1989–90 | Boston | 72 | 25 | 17.8 | .453 | .250 | .811 | 1.1 | 1.9 | .5 | .1 | 6.4 |
| Career | 784 | 368 | 27.2 | .498 | .225 | .807 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 1.2 | .1 | 14.3 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 0 | 15.5 | .625 | – | .500 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 10.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Portland | 3 | – | 14.7 | .313 | – | 1.000 | 1.3 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | 5.3 |
| 1981 | Portland | 1 | – | 4.0 | .000 | – | – | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | Portland | 7 | – | 37.1 | .586 | .500 | .758 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.3 | .1 | 23.3 |
| 1984 | Portland | 5 | – | 34.4 | .513 | .200 | .825 | 3.8 | 2.4 | .4 | .0 | 22.8 |
| 1985 | Portland | 9 | 0 | 23.6 | .465 | .300 | .792 | 2.2 | 2.3 | .7 | .0 | 12.9 |
| 1986 | Portland | 4 | 0 | 17.8 | .378 | .333 | .800 | 1.0 | 3.8 | .8 | .0 | 10.5 |
| 1987 | Portland | 4 | 0 | 23.5 | .406 | .000 | .889 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.3 | .0 | 8.5 |
| 1988 | Boston | 15 | 0 | 12.5 | .288 | .000 | .800 | .6 | .7 | .4 | .1 | 3.3 |
| 1990 | Boston | 5 | 0 | 12.4 | .500 | .000 | .750 | .0 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.8 |
| Career | 53 | 0 | 20.9 | .463 | .267 | .808 | 1.5 | 1.9 | .7 | .1 | 10.5 | |