Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Jim Cleamons was a defensive-minded NBA guard whose steady playmaking, perimeter defense, and unselfish backcourt leadership helped the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks during the 1970s. A pass-first floor general, Cleamons thrived by organizing offenses, limiting mistakes, and providing disciplined two-way guard play in complementary roles.

Here is the information on Jim Cleamons:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: James Mitchell Cleamons
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born September 13, 1949
  • Hometown: Lincolnton, North Carolina, USA
  • Height: 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters)
  • Weight: 185 pounds (84 kg) during his playing career
  • Wingspan: 6 feet 4 inches
  • Shoe Size: Size 12 (US)
  • Number: Wore #6 and #8 during his NBA career
  • Position: Point Guard / Shooting Guard
  • High School: Linden-McKinley High School (Columbus, Ohio)
  • College: Ohio State University (1968–1971)
  • NBA Draft: 1971 NBA Draft, 1st Round, 13th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers
  • Teams Played For:
    • Los Angeles Lakers (1971–1974)
    • Cleveland Cavaliers (1974–1979)
    • New York Knicks (1979–1980)
    • Washington Bullets (1980)
  • Championship Rings: 1 (as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972)
  • Kids: Not publicly documented
  • Siblings: Not publicly documented

Player Archetype / Play Style

Jim Cleamons’s player archetype was that of a defensive-minded point guard, a steady backcourt organizer who brought toughness, ball pressure, and enough offensive control to keep a team functioning without needing to dominate the scoring load. At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, he had solid size and strength for a lead guard, and his defensive role was clearly built around guarding opposing ball-handlers, disrupting actions at the point of attack, and adding perimeter resistance, which fits his All-Defensive Team recognition. Offensively, Cleamons projected more as a table-setter and secondary creator than a pure scorer, using composure, passing, and decision-making to guide possessions while still contributing when opportunities were there. His overall play style was disciplined, physical, and team-first, combining guard playmaking, backcourt defense, and a no-frills approach that made him a dependable two-way presence across multiple NBA stops.

Scouting Report

Jim Cleamons always looked more interested in controlling the possession than owning it. That distinction mattered. He had a patient handle, rarely got rushed into bad decisions and consistently manipulated the first line of the defence with subtle changes of pace rather than explosive moves. Watch him work out of a high pick-and-roll and you’ll notice he wasn’t hunting his own shot first—he was waiting for the screener’s defender to commit just enough before threading a bounce pass into traffic or swinging the ball one pass ahead of the rotation. It’s easy to overlook how much easier he made life for teammates simply by keeping the offence organised. His scoring came in bursts, usually from open pull-up jumpers, straight-line drives when defenders played too high or timely cuts after giving the ball up, but he never looked like a guard trying to prove he could score 25 points. Defensively, Cleamons competed with intelligence. He stayed attached over screens, understood when to shade ball-handlers toward help and rarely abandoned the scheme chasing steals that weren’t there. Bigger guards could create problems by shooting over him or finishing through contact, and he wasn’t someone who consistently collapsed an entire defence with raw penetration, but that wasn’t really his game. The interesting thing is that he almost always kept the possession on schedule. When an offence started drifting into isolation basketball, he had a knack for bringing it back into structure with one extra pass or a quick secondary action. To me, he fit best beside an aggressive scoring wing who welcomed someone else handling the organisational side of the offence while also taking care of difficult point-of-attack responsibilities. His game reminds me of Steve Blake in the understated way he prioritised spacing, ball movement and sound decision-making, while there are shades of Lindsey Hunter in his defensive discipline and willingness to make every offensive possession about creating the cleanest possible look rather than the most spectacular one.

Sources:
Basketball-Reference — Jim Cleamons Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
Sports Reference CBB — Jim Cleamons College Stats
NBA.com — Jim Cleamons | Guard | Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers — Where Are They Now: Jim Cleamons