James Worthy is a seven time NBA All-Star, three time NBA Champion, the 1988 NBA Finals MVP, and was named one of the 50 greatest players of all-time. Last night, Worthy was one of many athletes honored by the Buoniconti Fund as he received the Great Sports Legend Award.
Congrats to @James_Worthy42http://t.co/kmN106AZw4 recipient of the 2013 Great Sports Legend Award via @BuonicontiFund last night in N.Y.C.
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) October 1, 2013
Other recipients of the Great Sports Legend Award last night included former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, golfer Nick Faldo, former New York Yankee Dave Winfield, and former Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Worthy is often forgotten amongst the greatest to play the game because he took a backseat to Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but Worthy was a downright superstar in his own right. Had he been placed on a lesser team Worthy could have easily averaged 25-30 points per game, but he wanted to win. Even in a lesser role, Big Game James always stepped up when it mattered most, as his 1988 NBA Finals performance showed.
The event benefitted the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis and raises funds to support the ground-breaking spinal cord injury research done by researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The event has raised almost $93 million since 1985.
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