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NBA Draft: 30 greatest No. 1 overall picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

25 Jun 1997: Center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs speaks with a reporter during the NBA Draft at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport
25 Jun 1997: Center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs speaks with a reporter during the NBA Draft at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport /
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James Worthy
James Worthy. Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images /

NBA Draft: 30 greatest No. 1 overall picks in league history: 15. James Worthy

Evaluating the careers of NBA players can never happen without the context of those careers. Some players who would be miscast as the top option on a team instead get the benefit of playing alongside another all-time great, slotting them into a secondary role perfect for their skillset. Hall-of-Fame-type players such as Kevin McHale, Tony Parker or Klay Thompson had their cases boosted because they played most or all of their careers alongside an all-timer.

James Worthy got to play alongside two. After starring at the University of North Carolina and winning the 1982 NCAA Tournament alongside Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan, Worthy declared for the NBA Draft a year early and went first overall. Rather than go to a losing team that won the first pick on their own (lack of) merits, he went to a stacked Los Angeles Lakers team fresh off winning the NBA title that had acquired the pick in a swindle of a trade years earlier.

Worthy could have faded into the background on a team featuring Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but to his credit he jumped in and played his part, sliding up to small forward and averaging double figures as a rookie. By 1985-86 he had grown into the team’s second-leading scorer and played a key role on three title teams. In 1987-88 he was named Finals MVP.

Seven times Worthy was named an All-Star, and twice he made an All-NBA team. As Abdul-Jabbar aged into his 40s it was Worthy picking up the slack, and he helped the Lakers stay relevant into the 1990s, including a run to the NBA Finals in 1991 that ended in a loss to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. We will never know what Worthy’s career would have looked like without his all-time teammates, but he excelled in the role he was given and achieved a level of success few players in history can claim.