{{Short description|American basketball player (1965–2026)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox NBA biography | name = Gerald Paddio | image = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 7 | weight_lb = 205 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1965|4|21}} | birth_place = Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|4|4|1965|4|21}} | death_place = Rayne, Louisiana, U.S. | high_school = Rayne (Rayne, Louisiana) | college = *Kilgore College (1984–1985) *{{nowrap|Seminole State (1985–1986)}} *UNLV (1986–1988) | draft_year = 1988 | draft_round = 3 | draft_pick = 74 | draft_team = Boston Celtics | career_start = 1988 | career_end = 2004 | career_number = 24, 21, 14, 35, 4 | career_position = Small forward | years1 = 1988 | team1 = Rockford Lightning | years2 = 1988–1989 | team2 = Rochester Flyers | years3 = 1989–1990 | team3 = BCM Gravelines | years4 = {{nbay|1990|full=y}} | team4 = Cleveland Cavaliers | years5 = 1991 | team5 = Grand Rapids Hoops | years6 = 1991–1992 | team6 = Rockford Lightning | years7 = 1992 | team7 = Zaragoza | years8 = {{nbay|1992|full=y}} | team8 = Seattle SuperSonics | years9 = {{nbay|1993|start}} | team9 = Indiana Pacers | years10 = 1993–1994 | team10 = Scavolini Pesaro | years11 = {{nbay|1993|end}} | team11 = New York Knicks | years12 = {{nbay|1993|end}} | team12 = Washington Bullets | years13 = 1994 | team13 = Rapid City Thrillers | years14 = 1994–1995 | team14 = Maccabi Rishon LeZion | years15 = 1995–1996 | team15 = Chicago Rockers | years16 = 1996 | team16 = Ourense | years17 = 1996–1997 | team17 = Maccabi Giv'at Shmuel | years18 = 1997–1999 | team18 = Matsuhita Panasonic | years19 = 2000–2001 | team19 = Maccabi Rishon LeZion | years20 = 2001–2002 | team20 = Las Vegas Slam | years21 = 2002 | team21 = Soles de Jalisco | years22 = 2002–2003 | team22 = Kahraba Beirut | years23 = 2003–2004 | team23 = Ferro Carril Oeste | highlights = *Second-team All-PCAA (1988) *First-team NJCAA All-American (1986) }}
'''Gerald James Paddio''' (April 21, 1965 – April 4, 2026) was an American professional basketball player who was a small forward for three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for five teams—the Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and was selected by the Boston Celtics in the third round of the 1988 NBA draft with the 74th overall pick.
In his NBA career, Paddio appeared in 129 games and scored a total of 715 points. His most notable year as a professional was during the 1990–91 NBA season as a member of the Cavaliers when he appeared in 70 games and averaged 7.2 ppg.
==College== During his college playing days at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was coached by Jerry Tarkanian. Paddio was a starting forward the 1987 UNLV team that reached the Final Four.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1987-03-22-iowa.html|title = Nevada-Las Vegas vs. Iowa Box Score, March 22, 1987}}</ref> Before UNLV, he was named a first-team junior college All-American at Seminole State.<ref>{{cite news |title=Paddio All-American |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1986/04/12/paddio-all-american/62729918007/ |access-date=May 4, 2023 |work=The Oklahoman |date=April 12, 1986}}</ref>
==Death== Paddio died in a single-vehicle traffic collision in Rayne, Louisiana, on April 4, 2026, at the age of 60.<ref>{{cite news |title= Deadly single-vehicle accident claimed life of Rayne man |url=https://www.klfy.com/local/acadia-parish/report-of-an-accident-near-ebenezer-road-in-acadia-parish |access-date=April 4, 2026 |work=KLFY |date=April 4, 2026|last=Perrier|first=Laila}}</ref>
==Career statistics== {{NBA player statistics legend}}
===NBA=== Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/paddige01.html|title=Gerald Paddio NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=6 April 2026}}</ref>
====Regular season==== {{NBA player statistics start}} |- | style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1990}} | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | '''70''' || '''22''' || '''16.9''' || .419 || '''.250''' || '''.796''' || '''1.7''' || '''1.3''' || .3 || '''.1''' || '''7.2''' |- | style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1992}} | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 41 || 3 || 7.5 || '''.447''' || '''.250''' || .667 || 1.2 || .8 || .3 || '''.1''' || 3.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"| {{nbay|1993}} | style="text-align:left;"| Indiana | 7 || 1 || 7.9 || .391 || – || .500 || .7 || .6 || .1 || .0 || 2.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| New York | 3 || 0 || 2.7 || .400 || – || – || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 1.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 8 || 0 || 9.3 || .344 || .000 || .571 || 1.4 || .9 || '''.4''' || .0 || 3.8 |-class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" | Career | 129 || 26 || 12.6 || .421 || .242 || .746 || 1.4 || 1.0 || .3 || .1 || 5.5 {{s-end}}
====Playoffs==== {{NBA player statistics start}} |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1993 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 9 || 0 || 3.3 || .500 || .000 || – || .3 || .4 || .2 || .1 || 1.6 {{s-end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060213050857/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=PaddiGe01 Stats from databasebasketball.com]}}
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