28 AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY 15 2009
J I M
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numerous fashionshoots (most recently, for
KateMoss) andmovies, including
The Big
Lebowski
and
Charlie’sAngels
.
At age 15, Goldstein got his first taste of
sitting courtsidewhen the radio announcer
for theHawks, a family friend, hiredhim to
be his statistician during games. Sadly for
Goldstein, though, the job lastedonlyayear
because theHawks moved. So hookedwas
the Bay Area had no team at the time —
Goldsteinmoved south toL.A. for graduate
school and eventually bought his current
home when it became clear that his apart-
ment was too small for his dog. For years,
Goldstein, a lifelongbachelorwho isknown
to occasionally show up at games accom-
panied by stunning European models, at-
tended Lakers matches without attracting
toomuchnotice.
Then the Clippers moved to town, and
Goldstein started attending their games as
well. “The players and coaches started no-
ticing that I wasn’t just at Lakers games; I
was at Clippers games, and there weren’t
many people who were going to both,” he
says. Goldstein’s reputation as an avid fan
became more widespread when he started
hisnomadicquest to take inasmanyplayoff
games as possible, regardless of the teams
involved. “Everyone would take notice that
here’s an L.A. fan traveling to other cities
for games, and L.A.’s team isn’t even play-
ing,” he says. Thesedays, he tries togo to at
least 35 playoff games per year, procuring
tickets through friends he’s made around
the league— theSanAntonioSpurs, for in-
stance, set up a special seat atmidcourt for
him in exchange for a “significant” contri-
bution to the team’scharity—or, inapinch,
byusingbrokers or exchanging ticketswith
other teams’ rabid fans.
By the late 1980s, Goldsteinhadbecome
well known by players, coaches, and own-
ers all around the league. His allegiance to
teams was and is based not on geography
buton their styleofplay.A fanofup-tempo,
athletic basketball, Goldstein was disap-
pointed that the Suns didn’twin the cham-
pionship last year, since he believes other
teamswouldhavemimicked their fast-pace
play had they prevailed. In the past, he’s
gone togreat lengths to support his favored
teams. In the 1990s, Goldstein was such a
fanof theHoustonRockets,whowere then
anchored by Clyde Drexler and Hakeem
Olajuwon, that hewould attend all of their
practices and, onoccasion, even ride on the
teambus togames. “Hewas ourmascot; he
wasourgood-luckcharm,” saysCassell,who
was amember ofHouston’s championship-
winning teams in 1994 and 1995. “Jimhad
tobe at practiceduring theplayoffs; hehad
tobe at the games. SoRudyT
[
coachRudy
Tomjanovich
]
made surehewas there.”
Part of the reasonGoldsteinhas been so
Goldstein on the NBA after his up-close
stintwith theHawks, he didwhat he could
to keep upwith the team. “Itmeant sitting
next to the radio and tuning in stations
fromhundredsofmiles away tohear games
througha lot of static,” he says.
After attending Stanford University,
where he studied economics — and was
utterly disconnected from the NBA, since
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