Stormin’ Norman, more formally known as Norman Nixon, made a name for himself in the NBA and overseas as a strong point guard. His time spent playing the states was dedicated to the Golden State; Norm Nixon was a Laker and a Clipper over the period of a decade. During this time, he played on the NBA All-Rookie team twice and won two NBA championships.
Today, he’s retired and married to actress and producer Debbie Allen. They have three children: DeVaughn Nixon, Nichole Nixon, and Norman Ellard Nixon Jr.
Norm Nixon Early Life
Norman Nixon was born on October 11, 1955 in Macon, Georgia. After his parents divorced at an early age – and his mother became ill – Nixon and his brothers spent a lot of their time with their grandmother and great aunt.
Norm started to show interest in sports in his younger years, and played basketball and football in highschool. His skills and agility were noticed quickly, especially in football – both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys offered norm a free tryout to become a free agent.
At the same time, he was named to the Georgia All-State basketball team. Additionally, Nixon led his high school basketball team to the state championship. He decided to take his ball handling skills to the next level and played basketball for Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for four years.
Norm Nixon Career
Norman Nixon and the Lakers crossed paths during the 1977 NBA draft; the Lakers picked Norm in the first round as the 22nd overall pick. His skills and collaboration with his teammates led him to the playoffs in 1978, 1979, and 1981, but the Lakers didn’t pull through to bring home the wins.
But in 1980, Nixon helped the Lakers (at the beginning of their Showtime era) make their way to winning time, earning the NBA title against the Philadelphia 76ers. The two teams danced again in 1982, and the Lakers and Norm Nixon came through with the defeat again. Nixon was a leading scorer during his second winning go-around in the playoffs with a notorious 20.4 point average per game.
Nixon was traded to the San Diego Clippers and made a major impact during his first year. In fact, he led the entire league in assists and the number of regular season games played. Unfortunately, most of his time with the Clippers was spent injured, so much so that he decided to retire after the 1988–89 season.
Norm Nixon Post Retirement
Retiring from the NBA wasn’t going to stop Nixon from participating in the game of basketball to some extent. Norm Nixon headed overseas to play for the Italian major-league Serie A for the 1989–90 season.
He came back to the states and played Legends Classics games, then later became a sports agent at Premier Management Group Inc. Some of his other accomplishments post-retirement include:
- Opening the Debbie Allen Dance Academy alongside his wife
- Working as a radio commentator for the Clippers
- Working as a color analyst for Lakers’ home games
Norm Nixon Stats
With his experience playing on two different NBA teams, Norm Nixon’s career stats are as follows:
- G: 768
- PTS: 15.7
- TRB: 2.6
- AST: 8.3
- FG%: 48.3
- FG3%: 29.4
- FT%: 77.2
- eFG%: 48.8
- PER: 15.3
- WS: 47.6
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