James Worthy
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| Position | Small forward |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Big Game James |
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | February 27 1961 Image:Flag of North Carolina.svg Gastonia, North Carolina |
| High school | Ashbrook Gastonia, North Carolina |
| College | North Carolina |
| Draft | 1st overall, 1982 Los Angeles Lakers |
| Pro career | 1982–1994 |
| Former teams | Los Angeles Lakers (1982–1994) |
| Awards |
|
| Hall of Fame | 2003 |
James Ager Worthy (born February 27 1961 in Gastonia, North Carolina) is a retired American college and professional basketball player. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.05 m), he played small forward.
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[edit] College basketball career
Worthy was an All-American high school player at Ashbrook High School, in Gastonia, North Carolina. Averaging 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in his senior year. After high school, Worthy attended the University of North Carolina, where he quickly became a stand-out basketball player and was a key member and leading scorer (15.6 points per game) of that school's 1982 NCAA championship team. This team also featured Sam Perkins and a freshman named Michael Jordan. The 1982 championship game against the Georgetown Hoyas is notable for the shot that Michael Jordan hit in the final seconds to give North Carolina the lead. On Georgetown's subsequent possession, however, Worthy stole the ball from Fred Brown to seal the Tar Heels' 63-62 victory. Worthy scored 28 points in the game, on 13-18 shooting from the field, to earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
[edit] Professional basketball career
Worthy was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the first overall pick of the 1982 NBA Draft and immediately made an impact as a rookie, averaging 13.4 points per game on a Laker rookie record .579 field goal percentage. He was also named to the 1983 All-Rookie First Team. Worthy contributed to three NBA championships in 1985, 1987, and 1988, leading the team in playoff scoring in both the '87 and '88 campaigns. He led the Lakers in regular season scoring in both the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons and was a seven-time NBA All-Star. Worthy thrived in the Laker's fastbreak style with his speed and his dynamic scoring ability capitalized on Magic Johnson's crisp passing. Beyond his ability to finish a break with his trademark Statue of Liberty dunks, Worthy was one of the best baseline post players at the small forward position, with a brilliant spin move and a deadly turnaround jumpshot. Although lesser known than teammates Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, he is regarded as an important part of the Lakers' success. Worthy is best known for his clutch play-off performances. His 28 points and 9 rebounds in Game 6 and 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals earned him the Most Valuable Player award. After the sudden retirement of Magic in November of 1991, Worthy played for 3 more seasons. Injuries and mileage caught up with "Big Game", as an ankle injury in the 1991 Play-Offs and a knee surgery in 1992 that cut his season short, robbed Worthy of much of his quickness and leaping ability. Worthy announced his retirement in November of 1994, after 12 seasons in the NBA.
Nicknamed by longtime Lakers play-by-play man Chick Hearn as "Big Game James," Worthy played in 926 NBA games, averaged 17.6 points per game (21.1 points per playoff game). He ranks 5th all-time in team scoring (16,320), 2nd all-time in team steals (1,041), and 6th all-time in team field goal percentage (.521). Worthy had a .544 field goal percentage in the play-offs. Voted one of the top 50 NBA players of all time in 1996, Worthy was not a first-ballot inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. However, he was later inducted into the Hall in 2003. His jersey (#42) is only one of seven retired by the Los Angeles Lakers, alongside Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
[edit] Current
As of 2007, Worthy works as an in-studio analyst for Laker game telecasts on KCAL television in Los Angeles, and for NBA and college basketball highlights on KCBS television, also in Los Angeles. He also has been senior vice president of RP & Associates, a marketing company in Hermosa Beach, California, since February of 2005. Worthy was married to Angela Wilder from 1984-1996 and they have two daughters, Sable and Sierra Worthy.
[edit] 1990 police sting
In 1990, Worthy was arrested in Houston and charged with solicitation of prostitution. He was in the city with the Lakers for a game against the Houston Rockets. According to the police, prior to the game, Worthy called a local escort service and requested that two women be sent to meet him in his hotel room. Unbeknownst to Worthy, police had already shut down the escort service, and they instead sent two undercover vice squad officers to the hotel to meet him.[1] A month later, Worthy pleaded no contest to both charges. He was sentenced to one year of probation, fined $1,000 USD and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- Worthy appeared as a Klingon in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled "Gambit".
- Mentioned in the movie American History X, when two characters argue over who had the bigger basketball dynasty, the Lakers or the Celtics. Edward Norton's character, supporting the Celtics, says that Worthy has a head "like a melon."
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Julie Shea | ACC Athlete of the Year 1982 | Succeeded by Ralph Sampson |
| Preceded by Isiah Thomas | NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (men's) 1982 | Succeeded by Akeem Olajuwon |
| Preceded by Mark Aguirre | NBA first overall draft pick 1982 NBA Draft | Succeeded by Ralph Sampson |
| Preceded by Magic Johnson | NBA Finals Most Valuable Player 1988 | Succeeded by Joe Dumars |
North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball 1981-1982 NCAA Champions |
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| Jimmy Black | Jim Braddock | Chris Brust | Matt Doherty | Michael Jordan | Sam Perkins | Buzz Peterson | James Worthy Coach Dean Smith |
Los Angeles Lakers 1984-85 NBA Champions |
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Los Angeles Lakers 1986-87 NBA Champions |
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1 Matthews | 4 Scott | 21 Cooper | 24 Branch | 31 Rambis | 32 Johnson (Finals MVP) | 33 Abdul-Jabbar | 42 Worthy | 43 M. Thompson | 45 Green | 52 Smrek | 55 B. Thompson | Coach Riley |
Los Angeles Lakers 1987-88 NBA Champions |
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National Basketball Association number one overall Draft picks |
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| McNeeley • Tonkovich • Shannon • Share • Melchiorre • Workman • Beck • Selvy • Ricketts • Green • Hundley • Baylor • Boozer • Robertson • Bellamy • McGill • Heyman • Barnes • Hetzel • Russell • Walker • Hayes • Alcindor • Lanier • Carr • L. Martin • Collins • Walton • D. Thompson • Lucas • Benson • M. Thompson • E. Johnson • Carroll • Aguirre • Worthy • Sampson • Olajuwon • Ewing • Daugherty • D. Robinson • Manning • Ellison • Coleman • L. Johnson • O'Neal • Webber • G. Robinson • Smith • Iverson • Duncan • Olowokandi • Brand • K. Martin • Brown • Yao • James • Howard • Bogut • Bargnani • Oden |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Worthy, James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 27, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gastonia, North Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
es:James Worthy fr:James Worthy it:James Worthy he:ג'יימס וורת'י ja:ジェームズ・ウォージー pl:James Worthy
Categories: 1961 births | Living people | American basketball players | Basketball players from North Carolina | African American sportspeople | Basketball Hall of Fame | North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame | North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players | Los Angeles Lakers players | McDonald's High School All-Americans | ACC Athlete of the Year | Small forwards
