Q&A With Jim Paxson

01/26/10

Written by: caseyholdahl

Jim Paxson's accomplishments are somewhat lost in Trail Blazers lore, wedged between the two most storied eras in team history. They shouldn't be. Paxson, with Mychal Thompson, headlined the teams that made winning habitual in Rip City.

Paxson arrived in 1979 as the 12th overall pick, joining a roster that still included many names from the storied championship season. A lethal shooter, he became a two-time All-Star and team leader. Later, he was a veteran presence as the likes of Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey arrived. When he was traded to Boston during the 1987-88 season after 8+ seasons in Portland, Paxson left as the leading scorer in team history (10,003 points). He remains one of only five players in team history to clear the 10,000 point threshold.

blazers.com: Fans tend to remember the 1976-77 Championship team and the NBA Finals teams of the early ‘90s. Your career here bridged that gap with some really good teams throughout the ‘80’s. What memories do you have of your time in Portland?

Paxson: The biggest memories are how great an environment it was playing every night in front of a sold-out crowd at the Coliseum. Just the enthusiasm of our fans, along with playing for Jack Ramsay and playing with not only really good players, but really good guys.

Portland has one of the nicest downtown areas and is one of the most livable cities that you can be in. I have really fond memories of my time there. Oregon will always hold a special place for me. The people were always terrific to me. It’s a great city. The Northwest has always been a hidden gem, though it’s not really hidden anymore.

blazers.com: You grew up in Ohio and played your college ball at Dayton. What was it like leaving home when the Trail Blazers drafted you? What was that transition like?

Paxson: I was told by my agent on draft day that I was most likely going to go to New York, New Jersey or Detroit. He thought I’d go somewhere between seven and 11. I went 12th to Portland.

I wasn’t even thinking about the Northwest and I had never even been to the Northwest before. It was a big transition, not necessarily because of being that far away from home, but being in a whole different area.

The big turning point for me was after the All-Star break of my rookie season. We were playing in Kansas City, and Jack Ramsay and I got in at the same time. We got in a cab together to go to the hotel, and he told me we had just traded Maurice Lucas for Calvin Natt.

He said New Jersey really wanted me in the trade. But he says ‘I know you’re going to be a good player. We wanted to keep you.’ I had a couple big games after that my rookie year and then I really worked hard that summer between my rookie and second year to really improve myself and come back with some confidence.

blazers.com: Your statistics improved dramatically after your rookie season. Was it all about confidence?

Paxson: I think I kind of figured out how to play within Jack Ramsay’s system and the players we had. At the time Ron Brewer had been the starter and that year we drafted Kelvin Ransey. He came in as a rookie and even though he was more of a scoring point guard we still had a two-guard offense. All I did was get out, run the floor and got myself involved offensively.

My rookie year I shot 41 percent; for my career in Portland I shot over 50. I used to get a lot of layups because I’d move without the ball and I played with some really good passers along the way, including Mychal Thompson, who was one of the better passing big men who played in the league during the 80’s. I think it was a little bit of getting confidence, getting opportunity within the structure of the offense. Our transition was such that I was able to get out and be a scorer for that team and it improved my numbers dramatically.

blazers.com: What was it like playing for Jack Ramsay?

Paxson: I played for him for seven of my eleven years, during my most productive years. I always had a great deal of respect for Jack.

One of the things that always stands out is he was always very positive. He believed he could make any player, any team, better. After a tough loss you maybe didn’t want to run into him in the hotel lobby after the game. He used to take those long walks. Whatever city we were in he would kind of walk it off. But by the next morning when you got on the bus to go to practice or to the next city, he was positive and ready to go back to work. I think that carried over to his team, that they were very hardworking and believed that they were going to give their best every night.

He gave me the opportunity. I earned it in some ways but he gave me the opportunity. There’s a fine line in our business between making it and not making it. During my six years in Portland they drafted either a shooting guard or a point guard in every draft. That’s the nature of the beast and I was able to survive and excel playing for him. I have a great deal of respect for Jack and I think he gave a lot to basketball. He’s been great for the sport.

blazers.com: You were the first player in Trail Blazers’ history to break the 10,000-point barrier, though just barely. What do you remember about that game?

Paxson: I don’t remember much about the game in particular other than I was coming off an injury. I had surgery on my foot, had been out, and I knew based on some circumstances of Clyde emerging as the player that he was, that they were trying to get me back healthy so they could trade me. I was open to that, so I remember mostly that I was trying to get back and get healthy. Mike Schuler was the coach at the time and he was like ‘Look, get the 10,000th point, get this over with so we can focus on the game.’

I don’t specifically even remember the basket, but I do know that with the number of great players that have played there over the last 40 years that to be the first one to score 10,000 and to still be in the Top 10 in a lot of categories is a great accomplishment. I’m glad I got the opportunity to play most of my career in Portland.

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Q&A With Jim Paxson

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