Born on February 27, 1961 in Gastonia, North Carolina, James Ager Worthy was one of the best players to ever play the game of Basketball. His career started back in 9th grade while he was playing for Grier Junior High. He continued playing basketball through his three years at the University of North Carolina. Here he played alongside Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins. The three provided a triple threat attack and led the Tarheels to a championship in 1982, the same year that Worthy shared Player of the Year honors with Virginia's Ralph Sampson.
James Worthy was the first pick in the 1982 draft, chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers, skipping his senior year of college. Worthy found himself part of another great trio consisting of himself, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Worthy dominated at small forward, receiving passes from Magic, as the two clicked, and formed one of tightest duos in NBA history. Worthy was unanimously voted to the All Rookie team in his first season with the Lakers.
James Worthy played for a total of 12 seasons, all with the Lakers. He helped the Lakers win three championships, first in 1985, and again in 87 and 88. Worthy was instrumental in the Lakers' game 7 victory in 1988 against the Detroit Pistons, where James blew up for his first triple-double with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Due to this, Worthy recieved the nickname "Big Game," for being big in the big games. He was also named the MVP of the playoffs that season.
Worthy was always easy to spot on the court as he always wore his trademark goggles, which made him look like a bug. Looks aside, James Worthy was one of the best sidekicks, playing Scottie Pippen to Magic Johnson's Michael Jordan. Worthy was also known for his swooping one-handed dunks. James Worthy was also named one of the NBA's 50 greatest players in 1996. With all this considered, and also taking into account that Worthy has a .544 field-goal percentage in the post season, it's amazing that he was not enshrined in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2000, although he eventually made it in 2003. His number, 42, has been retired by the Lakers, alongside the rest of the trio he played with.
Career Statistics:
G Min FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG Stl Blk Points PPG
926 30,001 .521 .241 .769 5.1 3.0 1,041 624 16,320 17.6
Sources:
http://www.unc.edu/~lbrooks2/1982.html
http://www.si.edu/i+d/worthy.arc.html
http://tarheelblue.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/070902aaa.html
http://www.lakersweb.com/players/jamesworthy.shtml