Jim Paxson (born July 9, 1957) was an integral part of the Portland Trail Blazers for eight-plus seasons (1979-1988). The Trail Blazers made Paxson their first selection (12th overall) in the 1979 draft from the University of Dayton. Pax averaged 18 points per game for the Flyers and was named a 2nd-team 1979 All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. His father and brother also played in the NBA.
He played 627 games for the Trail Blazers, the team’s fifth highest total ever and is one of only four players to ever score more than 10,000 points in a Blazer uniform. Jim was an All-NBA second team selection in 1984 and twice represented Portland in NBA All-Star Games (1983 and 1984) and was named 2d-team All-NBA in ’84.
He started every game he played in for the Blazers for three consecutive years (1982-84). In November 1982, Pax scored 23 points in a 129-79 thrashing of Cleveland, the largest margin of victory in Porland history at the time. Jim Paxson averaged more than 20 points per game twice in his career and shot over 50% from the field for five consecutive seasons.
On the All-Time Blazer career record list, Paxson has scored 10,003 points, dished 2,007 assists, connected on 4,058 field goals, nabbed 857 steals and shot a very respectable 80% from the free-throw line. When he was traded to the Boston Celtics in 1988, he left as Portland’s all-time leading scorer.
Jim went straight to the front office after retirement with the Blazers, Cavaliers and Bulls. He was part of the staff that drafted LeBron James in 2003. He is a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame and was named Atlantic 10 Conference Legend in 2016.
