Paladin: you'll want a few stats, probably CHA (for spellcasting), STR (for hitting things), and CON (to survive being hit, since you'll be in melee). All three pretty important. I think STR is most important, because as paladin you'll spend a lot of time hitting things with a melee weapon, you don't get enough spell slots to primarily spend your time casting things. So you want to start with 16 STR, and probably 14 or 16 of the other two.
Races: Dragonborn is pretty nice since that gives +2 STR and +1 CHA. Mountain dwarf looks like it gives you +2 STR/ +2 Con, that's pretty awesome? Half-orc is good too, +2 STR and +1 CON.
E.g. with dragonborn paladin and point buy, you could get 16 STR, 16 CHA, 14 con, 10 DEX and WIS, and 8 INT if you feel like being unbalanced. With Mountain Dwarf paladin you could get 16 STR, 16 CON, 14 CHA, 12 DEX, 10 WIS, 8 INT. That's a pretty nice spread, and probably fits the "tanky, damage-focused" archetype you want.