James Worthy

James Worthy

Voted one of 50 Greatest Players in NBA history, James Worthy is in his second year as an analyst for CBS Sports' NCAA Men's Basketball Championship coverage. He also provides studio and game analysis for Seattle Supersonics and CTV.

As part of the Los Angles Lakers, was a seven-time NBA All Star (1986-92). He retired from professional basketball prior to 1994-95 season after an extraordinary 12-year NBA career. Recognized as one of top 10 players in playoff history, Worthy was referred to as "Big Game James," for his great performances in post-season play. His career post-season averages of 21.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game were higher than his regular-season averages of 17.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest.

He played college basketball at the University of North Carolina under legendary coach Dean Smith and captured the NCAA Championship in 1982. He was named Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four that season and also shared the national Player of the Year honors with Virginia's Ralph Sampson.

A No. 1 overall selection in 1982 NBA Draft, Worthy's field goal percentage of .579 topped all other NBA first-year players and remains a Lakers club record for rookies. He was unanimously selected to the All-Rookie Team in 1983 and joined Lakers starting lineup the following year. During his playing days the Lakers won the NBA Championships in 1985, 1987 and 1988 when Worthy was named the Most Valuable Player of the '88 Finals. He led Lakers in scoring for two consecutive seasons (1990-91 and 1991-92) and amassed 16,320 career points.

His jersey number (42) was retired by the Lakers on Dec. 10, 1995 and he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. His trademark goggles and championship uniform were inducted into Smithsonian Institute in 1996.

Born Feb. 27, 1961 in Gastonia, N.C., Worthy serves as president of "Big Games James, Inc.", a sports marketing firm specializing in retired athletes. He currently lives in Los Angeles and has two children.