A veteran of more than 20 years in the NBA coaching ranks, Jim Lynam is in his fourth season as an assistant on Coach Maurice Cheeks' staff. This is his second tour of duty on the Trail Blazers bench. His impressive resume includes head coaching tenures with three different NBA teams and a front office position with the Philadelphia 76ers as their general manager. He began his coaching career in 1981 as a Blazers assistant coach to then head coach, Jack Ramsay who was his mentor during his collegiate playing days at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia.

Lynam's last stint in the NBA came as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets during the 1999-2000 season. In addition to being an assistant, Lynam has held three head-coaching positions with Washington, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers gave Lynam his first NBA head coaching opportunity in 1983. In a season and a half, Lynam led the Clippers to a 52-91 record.

Lynam joined the Philadelphia 76ers, leading them to the Atlantic Division title in the 1989-90 season with a record of 53-29 and finished second in voting for NBA Coach-of-the-Year. Following his four-year stint as head coach, Lynam stepped into Philadelphia's front office as the 76ers General Manager. In 1994 the Washington Bullets (Wizards) chose Lynam as their head coach, a position he held for two seasons and posted a record of 82-128.

Lynam made the jump to the NBA after several successful head-coaching stints at the collegiate level. He amassed an impressive 158-118 record in 10 college seasons at Fairfield University, American University and St. Joseph's University. Lynam's .699 winning percentage at his alma mater, St. Joseph's, ranks second in school history behind Jack Ramsay.

Lynam played two seasons in the St. Joseph's backcourt, where he grabbed MVP honors both years and scored 1,012 points for coach Jack Ramsay.

Jim and his wife, Kay, have three grown children; Kathy, Denise and Jim Jr.