James Edward Paxson Sr. (December 19, 1932 – October 28, 2014) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'6" swingman, Paxson attended the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

during the mid-1950s, averaging 10.9 points per game in his collegiate career. He helped the Flyers attain two consecutive second-place finishes in the National Invitation Tournament. After his sophomore year, Paxson Sr. was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He spent two years in the Army and played with the Armed Forced All-Stars who won the Pan-Am games in Mexico in 1955 before returning for his final season in 1955–56. He averaged 15.5 points per game as a senior as the Flyers went 25-4 and lost to Louisville in the NIT championship game. After graduating in 1956, he was selected by the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

with the third pick of the NBA draft, then played two seasons in the NBA with the Lakers and

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. When his basketball career ended, he entered the

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business. Paxson's sons

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

both played in the NBA and have also served as NBA

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 ...

s. His son Michael played collegiately at

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

for one year. Paxson died on October 28, 2014. He was 81.Ohio basketball legend Jim Paxson Sr. dies at 81
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Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paxson, Jim Sr. 1932 births 2014 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1955 Pan American Games Basketball players from Indiana Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Cincinnati Royals players Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Minneapolis Lakers draft picks Minneapolis Lakers players Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Jay County, Indiana Rochester Royals draft picks Shooting guards Small forwards