CULTURETECHLENSJames Worthy
VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)
Combined Graph record U-07885 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7013.
James Worthy (born February 27, 1961, in Gastonia, North Carolina), known as "Big Game James," was the finishing force of the Los Angeles Lakers' Showtime dynasty. The first overall pick of the 1982 draft out of North Carolina — where he won the 1982 NCAA championship alongside Michael Jordan — Worthy won three NBA championships with the Lakers (1985, 1987, 1988) as the fastest end of the fast break. In Game 7 of the 1988 Finals he produced the defining game of his career — 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists — and was named Finals MVP. A seven-time All-Star, he averaged more in the playoffs (21.1 points) than in the regular season across his career, the statistical root of his nickname. Knee injuries shortened his prime; he retired in 1994 with the Lakers retiring his number 42. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Answer summary · this record in brief, from its own record text
James Worthy (born February 27, 1961, in Gastonia, North Carolina), known as "Big Game James," was the finishing force of the Los Angeles Lakers' Showtime dynasty. The first overall pick of the 1982 draft out of North Carolina — where he won the 1982 NCAA championship alongside Michael Jordan — Worthy won three NBA championships with the Lakers (1985, 1987, 1988) as the fastest end of the fast break.
The record
- Also known as: James Agyeman Worthy, Big Game James
Notes
Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0330. Firsts disposition: no 'first' asserted. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Worthy's plaque rests on the rarest résumé line in sports — better when it mattered most, measurably. Photo: CLEARED (1986 layup against Houston, Joe Kennedy / Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0; actor-adjacent and fan-photo search results refused at clearance).
Relationships
- Los Angeles Lakers — played for
Worthy played his entire NBA career (1982–1994) for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning three championships and the 1988 Finals MVP Award (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame).
Sources
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "James Worthy." Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
- Wikipedia. "James Worthy." Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
Photograph · rights-cleared record, CultureTechLens Photo Rights Log
James Worthy attempting layup vs Houston Rockets 1986-05-17
James Worthy attempting layup vs Houston Rockets 1986-05-17 — Joe Kennedy, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source: CultureTechLens · view at source
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Record CTL-E-7013 · Combined Graph record U-07885 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 2 sources · 1 mapped relationship.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.
Cite this record
Chicago: CultureTechLens. “James Worthy (CTL-E-7013).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7013/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). James Worthy (CTL-E-7013) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Combined Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7013/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “James Worthy (CTL-E-7013).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7013/
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