Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: INGLEWOOD, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
When Abdul-Jabbar called it quits following the 1988-89 season, he left as the NBA's career scoring leader.
When Johnson left two years later after testing positive for the virus that causes AIDS, he was the league's career assists leader.
Yet, neither could match Worthy's blinding speed on the wing of a fast break or his thunderous dunks.
And neither had a nickname like ``Big Game James,'' which Worthy lived up to time and again during a 12-year pro career.
Worthy, 33, started this season on the injured list because of tendinitis in his left knee. He left the team in October when his mother died in North Carolina, and hadn't been with the Lakers since.
``It's been a wonderful, wonderful 12 years,'' Worthy said during a packed news conference at the Forum, where Showtime played to rave reviews during the 1980s and where the team plays its first home game of the season tonight.
``This is probably the happiest day of my life; at the same time, it's a sad occasion,'' he said. ``I just got to the point where I didn't feel good physically.
``I couldn't make the contribution I needed to or wanted to. I definitely think it's the right time for me. I'll always remember today as my last day as a Laker.''
Worthy said the death of his mother wasn't a factor.
``I know she would want me to go on and play,'' he said.
Worthy, a seven-time All-Star and the MVP of the 1988 NBA Finals, when the Lakers beat Detroit to win their most recent championship, joined the team in 1982 as the No.1 pick in the NBA draft.
``I'd just like to be remembered as a team player,'' he said. ``There are so many fond memories I'll have to carry on with. To be a Laker was everything to me. We took it to another level, we were just a step ahead. We couldn't do what we did without that chemistry, that unity.''
Former teammates Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson and Michael Cooper, now an assistant coach with the Lakers, sat at the table with Worthy during the news conference.
Among others who played key roles in the 1980s were Kurt Rambis, who also has retired; Byron Scott, who plays for the Indiana Pacers; A.C. Green, a member of the Phoenix Suns; and coach Pat Riley, now with the New York Knicks.
``You carry that torch for a little while,'' Worthy said of being the final link to Lakers teams of the 1980s. ``I felt great representing those guys who came before me. I carried that with honor. That was my incentive in many ways; it was great to carry that torch.''
Worthy averaged 17.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 926 regular-season games and ranks 54th on the NBA scoring list with 16,320 points. He averaged 21.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 143 playoff games.
Worthy said the Lakers will honor the final two years of his contract, worth $7.2 million this season and $5.15 million next season.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB