James Worthy (UNC)James Worthy was the number one pick out of UNC for the Lakers in 1982. Worthy led the talented Tar Heels of 1982 to Dean Smith's first National Championship after 7 trips to the Final Four. It was Worthy's steal at the buzzer that locked up the win over Georgetown. He was named the NCAA Final Four MVP that year. As a junior, his last year in college, Worthy was named a consensus First Team All-American and shared Player of the Year honors with Ralph Sampson. His famous Tar Heel teammates include: Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins. Worthy played in the 1981 NCAA championship game as well, but the Tar Heels lost to Indiana. His championship success transferred to LA , where he filled the lane on Magic's fast break. The Lakers of the 1980s were defined by the all-star performances of Jabbar, Magic and Worty. Worthy was named the MVP of the 1988 NBA Finals, the Lakers second championship in a row. His postseason career field goal percentage of .544 places him in the top 10 all-time. He won 3 NBA titles: in 1985, 1987 and 1988. Worthy had a respectable rookie season, being named to the All Rookie Team after scoring over 1,000 points. Worthy was an All-Star favorite, usually starting for the West, playing in 7 over his career. He never won an MVP, but he was always among the best and explosive players in the league. Worthy was known as a scorer, amassing 16,230 career points. Even more than his reputaion as a scorer, Worthy was a winner and he deserves his nickname "Big Game".
Worthy's Stats: PPG RPG APG College 14.5 7.4 Rookie 13.4 5.2 1.7 1985-86 20.0 5.2 2.7 1989-90 21.1 6.0 3.6 Career (thru '94) 17.6 5.1 3.0 Career Playoffs 21.1 5.2 3.2
Terry Cummings (DePaul)Terry Cummings left DePaul after his junior season and was picked up by the San Diego Clippers with the number two pick in the draft. As a junior he was a unanimous First Team All-American. He was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 23.7 points per game. Terry is a good rebounder and a tough inside scorer. He can also hold his own inside defensively. His tenacity has led to two appearances in the all-star game (1985 and 1989). He has also been named to the 1985 All-NBA Second Team and to the 1989 All-NBA Third Team. He came to Milwaukee for the 1984-85 season where he went on to rack up the Bucks second best all-time scoring average behind Kareem. Terry's average with the Bucks was 21.7 ppg. He was diagnosed with a heart problem which hasn't slowed him down too much as he has learned to play with the condition. He was traded to the Spurs in May of 1989 for Alvin Robertson and Greg Anderson. His first season in San Antonio he finished second on the team in scoring and rebounding to David Robinson. An injury to his knee kept him out of most of the 1992-93 season. He returned to the Bucks in 1995 and continues to prolong his career. Terry was signed by the Sonics midway through the 1996-97 season. He got many valuable playoff minutes for the team even though he hadn't played in the NBA for a year. He played for the Knicks during the 1997-98 season. Then, he was traded along with Starks and Mills to the Warriors for Latrell Sprewell. In addition to playing pro ball, Terry is a Pentecostal Minister and Musician. Terry's career isn't over yet....on September 2, 1999 Golden State re-signed Terry Cummings to a multi-year contract. Following the 1999-2000 season, Terry announced his retiremet from the NBA after a long and prestigious career.
Cummings' Stats: PPG RPG APG College 16.4 10.1 1.7 Rookie 23.7 10.6 2.5 1983-84 22.9 9.6 1.7 1984-85 23.6 9.1 2.9 1985-86 19.8 8.5 2.4 1986-87 20.8 8.5 2.8 1987-88 21.3 7.3 2.4 1988-89 22.9 8.1 2.5 1989-90 22.4 8.4 2.7 1990-91 17.6 7.8 2.3 1991-92 17.3 9.0 1.5 1995-96 8.0 5.5 1.1 1996-97 8.2 4.1 0.9 1997-98 6.3 3.8 0.6 1998-99 9.1 5.1 1.2 1999-00 8.4 4.9 1.0 Career (thru 2000) 16.4 7.0 1.9
Dominique Wilkins
(Georgia)
Dominique Wilkins was the number three pick, by the Jazz, but his rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks where he went on to Superstardom. The Jazz got John Drew, Freeman Williams and 1 million dollars. Lets hope they put that money to good use because they got next to nothing out of the players. He left Georgia after his junior season when we was named a third team All-American (AP) and was a second team All-American (NABC, UPI). He has the second highest scoring average, next to Jordan, in the 80s and 90s. On December 2, 1992 he set a record for most consecutive free-throws in a game without a miss with 23. He's racked up over 25,000 points for his career. He also has the homor of playing in 9 all star games. Usually a runner up to Jordan for scoring title, he won the crown in 1986. In a disastrous trade for Hawks fans, 'Nique went to the Clippers in 1994 in exchange for Danny Manning. Both players signed with new teams for the next year, Manning going to the Suns and Wilkins landing with a rebuilding Boston team. He had little success in Beantown as he didn't really fit in with the team. He played in Europe in 1995-96, but returned to the states in 1996, signing a modest deal with the San Antonio Spurs. He could be the missing piece which brings more playoff success to the highly rated Spurs team which has never quite lived up to its potential. Dominique is the Human Highlight Film, lighting up the court with his spectacular dunks and awe-insipiring inside moves that puts him in the same league as Jordan. He has twice won the slam dunk competition in the All-Star Weekend, in 1985 and again in 1990. Unlike Jordan, Wilkins doesn't have any world championship rings. Believe it or not, Orlando signed him to a two year deal worth 2.1 million dollars on February 4, 1999, after playing in Europe for several years.
Dominique's Stats: PPG RPG APG College 21.6 7.5 1.5 Rookie 17.5 5.8 1.6 1983-84 21.6 7.2 1.6 1984-85 27.4 6.9 2.5 1985-86 30.3 7.9 2.6 1986-87 29.0 6.3 3.3 1987-88 30.7 6.4 2.9 1988-89 26.2 6.9 2.6 1989-90 26.7 6.5 2.5 1990-91 25.9 9.0 3.3 1991-92 28.1 7.0 3.8 1992-93 29.9 6.8 3.2 1993-94 26.0 6.5 2.3 1994-95 17.8 2.2 2.2 1996-97 18.2 6.4 1.9 1998-99 5.0 2.6 0.6 Career 24.8 6.7 2.5
Ricky Pierce (Rice)Pierce came to Rice after playing one year for Walla Walla CC. He went on the Milwaukee Bucks in September of 1984 after bouncing around between Detroit and San Diego as a little used reserve. He was traded to Milwaukee along with Cummings and Hodges for Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman and Harvey Catchings. The Clippers had as little luck with deals in the early eighties when they were in San Diego as they do now. He got his first break in 1985-86 becoming a go-to guy used as a sparkplug off the bench. He has twice won the NBA's Sixth Man award (1987 and 1990). In 1990 he led the Bucks and all NBA reserves in scoring. His career high of 45 points came on December 5, 1990 against Sacramento. His Bucks' teams made 6 consecutive playoff appearances. In 1991 he came to Seattle in a trade for Dale Ellis. He made his only all-star appearance five days before the trade to the Sonics. Pierce led the Sonics in scoring in both 1991-92 and 1992-93, his first two full seasons there. Primarily a bench player during his career, albeit he usually was on the floor at the end of the game, he actually started a good deal of games for the Sonics. The Sonics traded Pierce to the Warriors along with the draft rights to Carlos Rogers and 2 second round draft picks for Sarunas Marciulionis and Byron Houston in July 1994. He moved on to Indiana as a free agent where in 1995-96 he still led the team in points off the bench with an average of 9.7. He started 1996 in a Nuggets uniform, coming over with Mark Jackson for Jalen Rose, Reggie Williams and a first round pick (the Pacers picked Erick Dampier). Pierce can play an open court game, but he is best at putting you away with a mid-range jumper. He also makes the most of his time, averaging only 25.3 minutes per game over his career, translating to a field goal about every 3 minutes. He hits almost half of his field goals attempted and he has an amazing career .875 free throw percentage. Ricky was traded to Charlotte (2-20-97) for young big man George Zidek and point guard Anthony Goldwire. Goldwire became expendable with the development of first round pick Tony Delk. Pierce figures to add a veteran presence to a playoff bound team.
Pierce's Stats: PPG College 21.6 Rookie 2.2 1985-86 13.9 1986-87 19.5 1989-90 23.0 1990-91 20.5 1991-92 21.7 1994-95 12.5 1995-96 9.7 1996-97 11.0 Career (thru '97) 15.4