James Richard Petersen (born February 22, 1962) is an American former 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, and a current television analyst with the Minnesota Timberwolves. From 2009 to 2017 he served as an assistant coach and later

associate head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. He played as either a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

or a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Basketball career

High school / college

Petersen, a St. Louis Park native, played

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

basketball at St. Louis Park High School, being named Minnesota's Mr. Basketball in 1980, as well as being the first

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

from the state of Minnesota. Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, he then went on to be a four-year letter winner at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, and a member of the 1982

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Championship team that featured future NBA veterans

Trent Tucker Kelvin Trent Tucker (born December 20, 1959) is an American retired professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Tucker attended the University of Minnesota from 1978 t ...

and

Randy Breuer Randall W. Breuer (born October 11, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. A 7'3" center from the University of Minnesota, ...

NBA

Petersen was selected by the Houston Rockets in the third round (51st overall) of the 1984 NBA Draft, alongside Hakeem Olajuwon. In the following four seasons, he played with the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

club, backing up both Olajuwon and

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

, who were known as the Twin Towers. Petersen played in 20

post-season The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

games (averaging six points and six

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

) as the team reached the NBA Finals, losing 2–4 to the Boston Celtics. In 1988, Peterson was traded with Rodney McCray to the Sacramento Kings for

Otis Thorpe Otis Henry Thorpe (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston ...

. A year later, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors for former teammate Ralph Sampson. In the 1986–87 season, as Sampson began to struggle with injuries, Petersen achieved career-best averages of 11 points and seven rebounds, playing in all 82 games and starting in 56. He retired in 1992 at the age of 30, after four seasons with the Rockets, one season with the Kings, and three seasons with the Warriors, with totals of 491 games and 3,397 points.

Post-retirement

After leaving the NBA, Petersen worked for the

National Basketball Players Association The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is a labor union that represents National Basketball Association (NBA) players. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major professional sports leagues in the Unit ...

in their player programs division, facilitating seminars in NBA locker rooms in topics such as

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and AIDS, financial planning, substance abuse and career planning for life after basketball. He also coached junior high, high school and AAU basketball teams in La Jolla, California and Minneapolis. He has worked as a television analyst with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

since 2003; prior to that he was a radio analyst since 1998. As a broadcaster, Petersen has been acclaimed for his deep knowledge of basketball and detailed commentary on the nuances of the game. In November 2008, Petersen was named assistant coach of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx; in 2016 he was named Associate Head Coach. In January 2017, he announced he was stepping down as Associate Head Coach. He resides in

Wayzata, Minnesota Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is situated along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka about west of Minneapolis. Known for its small-town character and lakeside l ...

with his wife Tika. His stepson Sanjay Lumpkin, is a professional basketball player who played for

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

References

External links

Stats at BasketballReference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Jim 1962 births Living people American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Minnesota Basketball players from Minneapolis Centers (basketball) Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players Minnesota Lynx coaches Minnesota Timberwolves announcers Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from St. Louis Park, Minnesota Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings players Sports coaches from Minneapolis