News on Worthy's retirement, 1994 [SET VID TO 480p for HQ]

[encognito21]

Big Game James Worthy

[patreadwell]

HAD HE NOT GOTTEN HURT AT THE END OF THE REGULAR SEASON IN 1983 DR. J NEVER WOULD HAVE GOT HIS RING. BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING DR.J COULD DO WITH THOSE YOUNG LEGS OF WORTHY !!!!!

[pakizarish]

Great video.

[jptravers]

I consider myself a Laker fan, and you always hear about the great Laker dynasties -- Showtime etc., Shaq & Kobe, now Kobe/Gasol/Bynum/Odom/Fisher, etc., etc., -- and I have to say, I have never heard anything about the mid-late 90's Laker teams. Did they just suck or what?

[nonplayerzealot4]

They were very entertaining from 94/95 to the 99 lockout season, but when playoff time rolled around, things usually got UGLY. They melted down every year from 96-99. 

The 97 and 98 teams had about as much overall talent as the current team.

The teams from 91/92 - 92/93 were older and inconsistent, but showed a lot of pride making the playoffs each time. 1994 was a rough lottery season, but the next year was a rebirth, strangely enough. A lot of fans are fond of 1995 (NVE, Ced, Ed, etc).

[PeekaPeep]

Yup, personally I still feel that '97 team was the most exciting (if not talented) Laker team of that decade. Most of the Laker games I went to were during that timeframe. When Shaq came over and later Horry halfway through, it was like they could do whatever they pretty much wanted. Only thing they really lacked was a coach who could get that particular bunch of guys to play together come playoff time. That veteran Jazz team almost always put them in their place, lol.

[AdreasTheGreat]

@PeekaPeep WELL ACTUALLY THE BEST AND MOST TALENTED LAKERS TEAM I EVER SAW AND MAYBE EVER IS THE1985 AND 1987 TEAM!NO COMPARISION MAN.MAGIC,KAREEM,WORTY,MCADOO,­SCOTT,COOPER AND THEN AC GREEN! THAT WAS REAL BASKETBALL...FUN TO WATCH AND EFFICIENT TO!

[ivan1087]

The Lakers in the mid-late '90's were great. During one season, four of their players were All-Stars (Shaq, Kobe, Eddie Jones & Nick Van Exel). They just couldn't put it together in the Playoffs.

[BluntedNcali]

SICKEST FACE UP GAME IN HISTORY

[WWFattitude98rockz]

i love the theme satrting @ 1:11

dose anybody know what's the name of the theme?

[3chrds]

"The Dive"

hellz yeah, that was a play of anxiety! that was THE play that hooked me as a kid to the Purple and Gold. And to see it after all these years, historic!

[nonplayerzealot4]

1987 WCF, Gm4 - Lakers 133 @ Sonics 102 (Lakers sweep)

Yep, have it.

[naturalfinish]

checking back, it's Game 3 that's the big Worthy game...in Seattle, the game that Cooper seals the virctory with a bigtime block on Dale Ellis...Game 4 is a dunkfest, I believe that Worthy had about 25 in Game 4...

[nonplayerzealot4]

I have Gm3 as well.

[naturalfinish]

May 23rd, 1987 Game 3, Lakers 122 Sonics 121

Worthy 39 points

Sounds delicious, post it if you have the time...it's a great game! :D the Cooper block is classic...it's one of those games where nobody can touch Worthy...he's at the rim on nearly all of his moves...

[naturalfinish]

Thank you for posting this...Worthy remains one of my favorite players of all time...best finisher at the small forward position in nba history...

[nonplayerzealot4]

Glad to share. Quickest guy 6'9" or more in history. Never seen a baseline spin that fast by anyone since and never will.

[naturalfinish]

Worthy was a technician...the baseline spin, the up and under power move, the lefty dunks, the swooping finger rolls...he very rarely took a bad shot...and on the break, forgetaboutit...tomahawk...198­7 finals game 1 (33 pts 10 assists 9 rebs) and 1985 finals game 5 (34 points) are 2 outstanding Worthy perfomances, check them out (besides the game 7 triple double against the Pistons, of course)...now all I need is Worthy's 39 point game againt Seattle in the 87 Conference Finals...

[Bigmikelakers]

Hey nonplayerzealot4, how did the lakers get the number one pick in the '82 draft to get Big Game James since they won the championship the previous season?

[nonplayerzealot4]

They got it in a trade in 79 with Cleveland. The Cavs gave up a 1982 1st rounder which eventually became LA's pick. At the time, the worst two teams in the league flipped a coin for the 1st and 2nd picks. Clev wound up w/ the worst record in 81/82 and LA got their pick. They won the flip against the SD Clippers, who chose Terry Cummings 2nd.

They didn't have protected picks back then, obviously. LA got the Magic pick in similar fashion a few yrs earlier. BOS got the 1st pick in 80 the same way.

[HRE]

Big Mike knows exactly who to go to when there's a Laker history question to be answered. As always, NPZ not only brings the footage, but the knowledge and insights to back it up.

[nonplayerzealot4]

This is true, HRE. It is refreshing to see relatively young fans like bigmike and Javier who appreciate previous eras of Laker ball.

[Bigmikelakers]

Yeah NPZ is a true NBA historian.

[Bigmikelakers]

Wow. I bet Cleveland regreted that trade. For example in 2008 if the Lakers traded Lamar to the Thunder for a 1st round pick and if OKC won the lottery, the lakers wouldn't get the pick?

[nonplayerzealot4]

No, teams today can protect their picks, couldn't back then. There would be a stipulation saying, [If the pick turns out to be in the lottery, we keep it.] They can keep doing this for a few yrs. The next year, it would be, [If the pick turns out to be top 5, we keep it.] Etc.

CLEV struggled financially for yrs. Multiple owners didn't want to pay big $ to high 1st rounders every yr. EX: UTA sold Nique to ATL for $1 mill in 82. Lot of owners trying to stay in the black, concerned w/ bottom line.

[Bigmikelakers]

I would imagine teams would want a 1st rounder especially if they turned out to be a superstar. It would put more people in the seats thus more money for the owners. But that was before rookies had a set pay scale. Remember Glenn Robinson wanting that big 100 million dollar 13 year deal before he ever played a NBA game?

[naturalfinish]

only time a returning champ got the number one pick in any of the 4 major american professional sports in the modern era...NBA soon installed the lottery system (1985 Knicks won and picked Ewing)

[nonplayerzealot4]

Interesting that tanking is more suspect today than it was when only the first two picks were decided by chance (even then 50/50 odds). No one accuses the Rockets of being worse than they actually were in 83 & 84 (Sampson & Akeem). However, Ewing and Duncan are widely thought to be scams as well as Orlando getting the 1st pick in 93, right after Shaq. Even when those things don't happen, people gripe about teams like Port getting the 1st pick over 20-win wonders.

[naturalfinish]

the way they have it now is probably as "fair" as it can be done. This past year was a prime example of the luck aspect of the lottery prevailing with Chicago winning the first pick...the lottery doesn't reward tanking...I remember the Knicks-Ewing pick as being suspicious as the time...there was no incentive to Orlando winning two in a row, that one is curious...with the internet and more teams and money involved now than 25 years ago, not surprising that conspiracy theories abound...

[kingdomoftheworm]

@nonplayerzealot4 You're joking, right? Houston tanking those two seasons in '82-'83 and '83-'84 were the reason the lottery was created in the first place. They had the #1 and #3 picks in '83 and the #1 in '84. Also, Indiana was accused of tanking seasons, as they had the #2 picks each year from '83-'85 (though they traded the pick to Portland, who of course drafted Sam Bowie).

[92890javier]

Thnx for sharing us your Laker videos you have collected over the years!!

[HRE]

It's never ending, ain't it?

[92890javier]

hope it doesnt.

[LuigiLaker]

7-time first-team All-Pro...a legend at small forward...

[WildPegasus]

Big game!

Love hearing him on K-CAL