Norm Nixon

Norman Ellard Nixon (born October 11, 1955) is an American retired professional basketball player who spent twelve seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA All-Star, he won two NBA championships with the Lakers over the Philadelphia 76ers at the onset of their Showtime era in the 1980s.\n', ' Born the third of three boys to Mary Jo and Elmer Nixon, in Macon, Georgia, his mother contracted myasthenia gravis when Norm was a baby, and his parents divorced when he was two years old. The three boys were also raised with the help of his mother\'s mom and aunt (the boys\' grandmother and great aunt). He and his two brothers, Ken and Ron, attended the Methodist church, and Norm became an usher.\n', ' He played basketball and football in high school at Southwest High School in Macon, Georgia, and was named to all-state in both sports. In football, he played defensive back and tailback, and was later offered a free agent tryout by both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. He was senior class president and named as the starting guard on the Georgia All-State team for 1973, after leading Southwest to the 1973 state high school basketball championship under coach Donald "Duck" Richardson. Nixon also played the trumpet and was on the yearbook staff. He was on the track team, ran the 440 yard dash, and won a regional title in the high jump at 6 feet, 5 inches.\n', '