Is James Worthy one of the most overrated players of all time?

[Kensta]

Nah he wasnt.

Not that it matters. The HOF voting is often a joke. Nique didnt get in on the first try. Bing, Monroe, Cowens, Gervin, Sam Jones, Nate thurmond, and others didnt make it first ballot. some of those guys I just mentioned took 10-15 years. Monroe got in in the 90s and he retired in the late 70s or maybe 1980 or 81 at the latest.

Wow, did not know that.

[winwin]

- Is James Worthy one of the most overrated players?

- ask freshman Michael Jordan about his mentor and techer

[Duncan21formvp]

Worthy is overrated. I have seen him pretty high up on some peoples SF lists. But the question is, how overrated?

He was a good/very good scorer, a fantastic athlete who was as devastating on the fast break as he was hitting mid range jumpers. But, he was an average defender, an average playmaker and an average rebounder.

Couldn't the Lakers have won 4 championships between 83' and 88' with Dominique instead of Worthy? or Alex English? Was he really better than Adrian Dantley? or Bernard King? or Kiki Vandeweghe? or even Mark Aguirre?

Worthy was a fantastic complimentary player, an unbelievable 3rd option to have and a good 2nd option. He was perfect for those mid 80s Laker teams and had some big playoff games.

But come on people. WHAT IF THE SAN DIEGO CLIPPERS HAD DRAFTED HIM?!

When you put up 36/16/10 in game 7 of the NBA Finals you sure as hell ain't overrated.

[oolalaa]

Not sure I'd go that far Pierce is legendary in his own right but I don't see how a fan of the game can pose such a question if they haven't formed an opinion of said player?

Just because he cracks top 50 All-Time doesn't mean he's overrated. I mean look at how many great players aren't on the list to this day...It's obvious the list needs to be redone....

such as adding

Payton/Miller/Rodman/Wilkins/Ray Allen/Webber/Dirk/Mourning/Garnett/Wade/Lebron/Tim Duncan/Durant/Pierce etc etc. when the list was made he deserved to be considered and make the list

I would like posters who make these kinds of threads to first define what makes players overrated, otherwise threads like these makes no sense.

Okay then. Some clarification:

Most people consider Worthy to be 'greater' than (you know, higher on all time lists) other small forwards from that era such as nique, king, dantley, king etc.

Now i am asking, is that because he was the better player player or because he was fortunate to land on the perfect team?

I try to judge players in a vacuum. I try to put their team accomplishments into perspective. It can be very hard sometimes

[TheBluest]

Okay then. Some clarification:

Most people consider Worthy to be 'greater' than (you know, higher on all time lists) other small forwards from that era such as nique, king, dantley, king etc.

Now i am asking, is that because he was the better player player or because he was fortunate to land on the perfect team?

I try to judge players in a vacuum. I try to put their team accomplishments into perspective. It can be very hard sometimes

Is Lebron a greater player because he's playing with Wade and Bosh?

Is Garnett a greater player because he's playing with Peirce and Allen?

Was Nash a greater player when he played with Dirk and Finley?

Was Kobe a greater player next to Pau/Lamar/Artest?


Individually Worthy may not have been as great as those players you listed but this is a TEAM sport still and you can't take a player's impact on TEAM play away from their greatness. Is this not what makes Magic crack Top 5 on most list? It's because of what he was able to accomplish via TEAM play because his numbers in certain areas of the game don't blow you away.

[NugzHeat3]

Anybody have Worthy's numbers from 1986-1991 in the games Magic didn't play in?

[PTB Fan]

He's not overrated. I have him at #11 on my top SF list.

[bizil]

Well I think Worthy could have been a scoring machine franchise player a hair below the level of Nique, King, English, and Dantley. Meaning putting up around 27 points a night peak value wise. The other four were getting 30 points a night at their best. But Worthy was a better defender than all four of them. He was also the biggest at 6'9 230 pounds. And he played lots of PF early in his career. James was a beast and in my book passes the eye test for an alpha dog caliber SF, even though he was the second or third option for some of those Laker teams.

In terms of GOAT u factor longevity being great,numbers, team accolades,and solo accolades. In this sense, I would rank these at the GOAT SF's:

Bird
Doc
Hondo
Baylor
Barry
Lebron
Pip
Nique
Billy C
Pierce

I think Worthy has a case to be in the top ten SF's ever considering all factors along with English, Dantley, King. But peak value wise I would say: (no order after the top 4)

Bird
Lebron
Doc
Baylor
Barry
Hondo
Nique
G Hill
King
Billy C.

So James in my book is probably rated just right. I feel Nique should have been on the 50 greatest and was better than Worthy. However I would leave James on and take off somebody else like Shaq, who had played only 5 years.

[Round Mound]

He is Overrated and Underrated

He would have been a great 2nd option

The thing he had over Nique, King, Dantley and English was Defense and Versatility: He Was a Better Defender and Could Play and Guard SFs and PFs both. Thats what made him as good or Better than probablhy English. Not Dantley, Nique or King: I consider them Better.

[knickswin]

it drives me crazy when mj gets credited for that unc championship even though james worthy was their best player

[bdreason]

I've always thought Worthy was actually overlooked and underrated. Making the top 50 list doesn't mean anything.

[Deuce Bigalow]

I though Kobrick Cryant was

[Xiao Yao You]

He was always overrated. Fortunate to have played where and when he did. I never thought he was a lot better than Scott but he got a lot more credit.

[bizil]

He is Overrated and Underrated

He would have been a great 2nd option

The thing he had over Nique, King, Dantley and English was Defense and Versatility: He Was a Better Defender and Could Play and Guard SFs and PFs both. Thats what made him as good or Better than probablhy English. Not Dantley, Nique or King: I consider them Better.

Exactly right! He is a player u could consider overrated and underrated. Versatility and D is what he had over those SF's u named. But after Dr. J slowed down, I always considered Bird, Nique, and King the top three SF's in the L. Bird the clear number one and a tossup between King and Nique for number two. Once King got that injury bug, it was Nique as the clear number two. Once Bird slowed, it was then Nique, Pip, and Mullin battling for SF supremacy. I happen to think Nique was the best during that time then Pip eventually eclipsed him.

[AllenIverson3]

top 5 most overrated