Los Angeles Lakers: Predicting the all-time starting five in NBA 2K18

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Lakers All-Time Starting Five Small Forward: James Worthy

Of all the positions, small forward is probably the weakest all-time for the Lakers. However, their weakest would be the strongest on some other teams as James Worthy is one hell of a player. Worthy was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Lakers and spent his entire 12-year career with the Lakers.

Worthy joined the Lakers a year after they won the NBA Finals. They would lose in the finals his first two seasons in the NBA before going on to win three of the next four. Worthy was an integral part of the Showtime Lakers and played in seven NBA Finals with the Lakers. He took home MVP honors during the 1988 NBA Finals and was a seven-time All-Star.

Worthy was a very reliable player with the Lakers. He played at least 80 games in seven seasons and was quite productive. Worthy averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2003 class.

Worthy also finds himself among plenty of the Lakers all-time lists. He is top-six in games and minutes played, as well as field goals and field goals attempted and two-pointers and two-point field goals. You’ll also find him in the top-10 of both steals and blocks. Worthy got the jump done on both ends of the court as Basketball Reference has him in the top-10 of offensive and defensive win shares, total win shares, and wins above replacement player.

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