James Worthy
James Worthy was born February 27, 1961 and is a retiredHall of Fame basketball player. Named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBAHistory, "Big Game James" was a seven-time NBA All-Star andthree-time NBA champion. A standout for the North Carolina Tar Heels, the 6 ft9 in (2.05 m) small forward was the MOP of the 1982 NCAA Tournament and #1 pickof the 1982 NBA Draft. He was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Worthy was an All-American high school basketball player atAshbrook High School in Gastonia. Worthy averaged 21.5 points, 12.5 reboundsand 5.5 assists during his senior season, for a team that lost in the statechampionship game. Worthy was also selected to play in the 1979 McDonald'sAll-American game that also featured future Naismith Hall of Famers IsiaihThomas, Dominique Wilkins and Ralph Sampson.
Dubbed "Big Game James" by longtime Tar Heel play-by-play radiobroadcaster Woody Durham, Worthy played in 926 NBA regular season games,averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists per game. He played in143 play-off games and averaged 21.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists pergame and had a 54.4 field goal percentage. In 34 NBA Finals games he averaged22.2 pts per game on 53% shooting. He ranks fifth all-time in Lakers teamscoring (16,320), second all-time in team steals (1,041) and sixth all-time inteam field goal percentage (.521). Voted one of the top 50 NBA players of alltime in 1996, Worthy was not a first-ballot inductee into the Basketball Hallof Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility. However, he was later inductedinto the Hall in 2003. His jersey (#42) is only one of seven retired by the LosAngeles Lakers, alongside (#44) Jerry West, (#13) Wilt Chamberlain, (#22) ElginBaylor, (#25) Gail Goodrich, (#32) Magic Johnson and (#33) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James Worthy was born February 27, 1961 and is a retiredHall of Fame basketball player. Named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBAHistory, "Big Game James" was a seven-time NBA All-Star andthree-time NBA champion. A standout for the North Carolina Tar Heels, the 6 ft9 in (2.05 m) small forward was the MOP of the 1982 NCAA Tournament and #1 pickof the 1982 NBA Draft. He was born in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Worthy was an All-American high school basketball player atAshbrook High School in Gastonia. Worthy averaged 21.5 points, 12.5 reboundsand 5.5 assists during his senior season, for a team that lost in the statechampionship game. Worthy was also selected to play in the 1979 McDonald'sAll-American game that also featured future Naismith Hall of Famers IsiaihThomas, Dominique Wilkins and Ralph Sampson.
Dubbed "Big Game James" by longtime Tar Heel play-by-play radiobroadcaster Woody Durham, Worthy played in 926 NBA regular season games,averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists per game. He played in143 play-off games and averaged 21.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists pergame and had a 54.4 field goal percentage. In 34 NBA Finals games he averaged22.2 pts per game on 53% shooting. He ranks fifth all-time in Lakers teamscoring (16,320), second all-time in team steals (1,041) and sixth all-time inteam field goal percentage (.521). Voted one of the top 50 NBA players of alltime in 1996, Worthy was not a first-ballot inductee into the Basketball Hallof Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility. However, he was later inductedinto the Hall in 2003. His jersey (#42) is only one of seven retired by the LosAngeles Lakers, alongside (#44) Jerry West, (#13) Wilt Chamberlain, (#22) ElginBaylor, (#25) Gail Goodrich, (#32) Magic Johnson and (#33) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
