Us old Laker fans didn't call him Big Game James for nothing. Worthy played his best games in the championships and playoffs when the cream rises to the top. Very underrated player, Lakers were about winning championships not individual stats that's why Worthy doesn't have the statistical numbers other players do. If he had been on a B team in the 80's his numbers would be unreal.
Worthy had 40 points on 17/26 in Game 4 1989 against the Pistons (admittedly Rodman was out IIRC), totally brilliant. There's a few games in his career with no Magic, no Kareem that clearly show his talent and skill.
I totally agree. I just wish he would have aged a little more gracefully. After the ‘93 first round Phoenix exit...he just didn’t have the high caliber complementary players around him to sustain a high performance out of him. Being relegated to the bench the last few years :(
man a true forward a guy who can spread the floor, box out and scrap in the paint with the bigs....with an equal skill for court vision and passing. Boy is it nice to see a team play with strong fundamental skills across the board, this guy with jordan at NC was probably a dominant force
its what made that team so good, it wasnt about the stats it was about the W, same way there were dif players getting the finals mvp when they would win such a great team greatest team imo ever
The 1982 NBA🏀draft class was loaded with talented players - Worthy, Cummings, Wilkins, Kellogg, etc. Worthy wasn't the 1st pick for nothing. He's the only player of the aforementioned names who got NBA championships🏆🏆🏆under his belt.
Great post. BIg Game James was one of the best forwards ever. Easy top 50. At North Carolina he was the Prototype forward. Just simply incredible. He and Dominique went at each other hard in the NCAA.
OUAH JAMES WORTHY !!!! So fast and aerial player !!! Fantastic ! Movements of fluidity and rare power, including exceptional dunks of grace and beauty !! James is so Worth'it !!
The Best Fast Break Finisher of the 1980s !!! How he would lead with his right hand and not get blocked… He was in the air and at the rim before the defense could jump to stop him !
In terms of individual accolades and statics, if Worthy would have played for any other NBA team, he would have probably had a career scoring of average 30 points and 10 rebounds per game. With Kareem and Magic, he was sometime the third option, truly a great super talent we didn’t see all of.
The 80's lakers were the most balanced team ever. If you look at their stats year to year they always had someone different leading them in scoring; Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Scott. They were a true all star team.
Now that is getting dunked on!. James Worthy had some of the greatest "Facials" ever. Nobody today plays like that. He was the ultimate finisher on the fast break. No wonder Magic Johnson had so many assists.
vin russo I say Worthy had 100 ways to score, a lot of that was from his uncanny ability to shoot or dunk from either hand... it made him pretty much unstoppable.
One of my favorite James Worthy plays wasn't a basket but a defensive move which was a foul. In the 1984 Celtics-Lakers Final, all hell broke loose in Game 4 when Kurt Rambis (going for a fastbreak dunk) was clotheslined by Kevin McHale in a play which could have ended Rambis' career if he had fallen flat on his back. Well, in Game 6, Worthy showed that the Lakers were no pushovers by doing something similar to Cedric Maxwell. Worthy caught Maxwell who was running on the fastbreak and from behind, just pushed Maxell out of bounds hitting the basket support. A bad foul to counter a bad foul, this time black on black, Laker on Celtic, upcoming forward vs former Finals MVP, after Game 4 had seen white on white, Celtic on Laker, established forward vs solid role player. Retaliation to show that they meant business. Sort of like a baseball pitcher hitting the other team's best player after his own teammate first gets hit by the other team's pitcher. A young Worthy (in his 2nd season) proved he valued fair play and was a true Laker. One of his greatest moments in my opinion.
The Lakers had already won 🏆 2 titles in 1979-80 and 1981-82. You knew when they drafted Worthy 1st overall in the 82 draft, there would be more to follow!
Don't forget Kareem and Elgin Baylor! As a Bulls fan I don't like the lakers, and usually root against them, but I have to respect the history of great players on the franchise. Respect.
one of the most underrated players ever. When you say LA Lakers, I think of Magic, and the logo, and worthy. Other idiots think of kobe, fisher, pau. Stupid. Worthy>>>>>>Kobe
Buss was smokin' some mighty bad stuff if that was true, lol!!! Cummings wouldn't have lasted 2 seconds on Magic's hard fast-breakin' squads during that time. So damn glad Lakers picked Worthy. Hell, even Dominique Wilkins was available in that same draft if they wanted to go that route. Imagine Magic, Kareem, and the Human Highlight Film runnin' on the same floor together... >;-)
It seems Worthy's injuries came from wear& tear, although he sustained an ankle injury in '91, later requiring knee surgery which ended his high--flying play. In his prime he was a beautiful power mover and slam-dunking player. He did play fairly long, about 15-16 years.
Actually, he only played 12 and a half. But he also played deep into the playoffs every year (including 6 NBA Finals appearances). Plus, the Lakers really didn't have a backup small forward for most of those years (a couple of Orlando Woolridge seasons, perhaps). So the minutes and the Showtime pace did exact a toll.
I see these ESPN clips of nba hoop now...OMG it's like watching a game of street ball...with a bunch of teenagers celebrating after they make a layup...They did it during the NCAA tournament too..This right here is basketball..What you fans like today is a watered down version of the real thing.
i didnt say stats are everything. I said they are useful. Kobe is great and I know worthy wasnt the biggest offensive force of the 80s lakers. That was kareem or magic.
And MJ's got 49%, so what? Stats are useful but they don't always tell the truth. I have an utmost respect for James Worthy, since he was athletic, a beast of his era. As I said was one of the first Lebron-like athletes of the NBA. But he was not the most important offensive player in those Lakers. Kobe on the other hand was, is and will be the first guy who will receive and take the shot. If you like stats, check Kobe's personal and franchise records.
I personally think of Kobe, Magic, Worthy, Scott, Kareem, Wilt, West, Goodrich, A,C Green, Shaq. And no, Worthy was a proto-Lebron James, he ain't have the scoring touch of players like Kobe.
Damn this guy is slow af...after... you imagine him trying to get up and down the court in today's game...It'd be at least another 50 trips back and forth...This clown should stick to half court basketball
