Biography

Call 1.800.966.1380 to contact James Worthy booking agent, publicist, manager, pr firm, representative and management company for booking James Worthy speaker appearances, autograph signing, endorsement deals or hiring James Worthy as a keynote speaker for your next event. Find James Worthy official website information, speaker fees, booking fees, costs and schedule. Basketball great, James Worthy was born on February 27, 1961 in Gastonia, North Carolina. James Worthy was an All-American high school basketball player at Ashbrook High School, in Gastonia, North Carolina. Worthy averaged 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds during his senior season, for a team that lost in the state championship game. Worthy went on to attend the University of North Carolina.

James Worthy quickly became a stand-out college basketball player and was a key member and leading scorer (15.6 points per game) of that school's 1982 NCAA championship team. Worthy was also named to the Sporting News All-American Second Team. The 1981-1982 North Carolina team also featured Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan in his freshman year. The 1982 championship game against the Georgetown Hoyas is notable for the shot that Jordan hit in the final seconds to give North Carolina the lead. On Georgetown's subsequent possession, Worthy intercepted a pass from the Hoya's point guard Fred Brown to seal the Tar Heels' 63-62 victory. For the game, Worthy shot 13-17 from the field, scored 28 points and had 4 rebounds. He earned the Most Outstanding Player award.

After winning the NCAA Championship, Worthy elected to forego his senior year and enter the NBA draft, where he was drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. Shrewd and opportunistic trade moves made by the Lakers front office the year before provided them with the first overall pick, the year after winning the NBA Championship. The NBA soon installed the lottery system to insure that a NBA Champion would never select first again. Worthy immediately made an impact as a rookie, averaging 13.4 points per game and shooting a Laker rookie record .579 field goal percentage. He was also named to the 1983 All-Rookie First Team. Worthy thrived in the Laker's fastbreak style with his speed and his dynamic ability to score with either hand and play above the rim. Beyond just finishing a fastbreak with his trademark Statue of Liberty dunks or swooping finger rolls, Worthy was also one of the best baseline post players at the small forward position, with a quick spin move and a deadly turnaround jumpshot. Unfortunately, his rookie year ended on a down note as Worthy broke his leg after coming down awkwardly from a jumpball in one of the last regular season games of the year.

1985 saw a Laker team that was on a mission of redemption and it was during the play-off run to winning the championship that year that Worthy took a big step forward as a clutch performer. Worthy averaged 21.5 points per game on .622 percent shooting in the play-offs and it was his inspired play against the Celtics (23.7 pts per game in the Finals) that further established Worthy as one of the league's premier players. It was also in 1985, that after sustaining an eye injury against the Utah Jazz in March, Worthy would begin wearing goggles. Worthy would go on to wear protective eyewear for the rest of his career.

Although of lesser renown than teammates Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, Worthy is regarded as a key contributor to the three NBA championships (1985, 1987, 1988) and the overall success of the Lakers' '80s basketball dynasty. After the sudden retirement of Magic in November 1991, Worthy played for 3 more seasons. Injuries and mileage caught up with "Big Game". A high ankle injury during the 1991 Play-Offs and season ending knee surgery in 1992 robbed Worthy of much of his quickness and leaping ability. After struggling with knee pain in the preseason of the 1994-1995 season, 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 regular season games, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Worthy played in 143 play-off games and averaged 21.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and had a .544 field goal shooting percentage. Worthy played in 34 NBA Finals games and averaged 22.2 pts per game on 53% shooting. He ranks 5th all-time in Lakers team scoring (16,320), 2nd all-time in team steals (1,041) and 6th all-time in team field goal percentage (.521). 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 (#44) Jerry West, (#13) Wilt Chamberlain, (#22) Elgin Baylor, (#25) Gail Goodrich, (#32) Magic Johnson, and (#33) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

When James Worthy retired before the 1994-95 season, it was fitting that Magic Johnson was there to describe Worthy's career. Johnson, after all, had made the passes on the fast break that set up hundreds of Worthy's trademark one-handed swooping dunks.

"James Worthy was one of the top 10 -- top five -- players in playoff history," Johnson stated at the news conference in which Worthy announced his retirement.

As of 2008, 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 2005. Worthy was married to Angela Wilder from 1984-1996 and they have two daughters, Sable and Sierra Worthy.

PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent PFP is a speakers bureau and booking agency providing James Worthy speaker, personal appearance and endorsement information. Booking James Worthy for appearances, as a motivational speaker, keynote speaker, for a fundraising event, grand opening, television or radio commercial, PR campaign or trade show is easy through our agency. For more info, contact James Worthy through PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent at 1.800.966.1380.