ankle injury during the 1991 playoffs and season-ending knee surgery in 1992 robbed much of his quickness and leaping ability, and with it both his ability to finish on the fast break and drive to the hoop to score. After struggling with knee pain in the 1994–95 preseason and no prospects of another title run in any foreseeable future, Worthy announced his retirement in November 1994, after 12 seasons in the NBA. "Big Game James" Even on Lakers teams dominated by fellow Hall of Fame members Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, Worthy stood out as a star during their years together. He led the Lakers in playoff scoring in their championship runs in 1987 (23.6) and 1988 (21.1) and was second to Abdul-Jabbar in the 1985 championship run (21.5). He always saved his best for the playoffs and averaged 3.5 points higher per game than in the regular season. That, spectacular offensive displays, and flashes of defensive brilliance, cemented his legacy as "Big Game James". Worthy played in 926 NBA regular-season games, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists per game. He played in 143 playoff games and averaged 21.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and had a 54.4 field goal percentage. In 34 NBA Finals games he averaged 22.2 pts per game on 53% shooting. Worthy played in 4 Game 7s in his career and averaged 27 points 8.2 rebounds on 60% shooting in these winner-take-all contests. He ranks sixth all-time in Lakers team scoring (16,320), third all-time in team steals (1,041) and seventh all-time in team field goal percentage (.521). Worthy was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Worthy was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. His jersey No. 42 was retired by the Lakers. NBA career statistics Regular season |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 77 || 1 || 25.6 || .579 || .250 || .624 || 5.2 || 1.7 || 1.2 || .8 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | style="background:#cfecec;"|82* || 53 || 29.5 || .556 || .000 || .759 || 6.3 || 2.5 || .9 || .9 || 14.5 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"|† | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 80 || 76 || 33.7 || .572 || .000 || .776 || 6.4 || 2.5 || 1.1 || .8 || 17.6 |- |