Paul grew up in Holly Springs, Mississippi and played baseball at Germantown High School. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins out of high school, but decided to sign with Mississippi State instead. While pitching at Mississippi State, Maholm started 44 times, had a 27-10 record, 273 strikeouts in 312 innings pitched, and a 3.55 ERA in 46 games. He was named All-SEC and finished 4th all-time in school history in strikeouts and innings pitched.

In 2003, Paul was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round of the MLB Amateur Draft. He spent 10 years in MLB, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Over his MLB career, Maholm played in 273 games, had 250 starts with 1556 innings pitched, 6 complete games, 4 shutouts, and a 4.30 ERA.

In addition to being inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Paul Maholm has also been inducted into the Mississippi State Athletic Hall of Fame and the Mississippi State Ron Polk Ring of Honor.