LA Lakers legend and 3-time NBA champion James Worthy recently appeared on the All the Smoke podcast alongside Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. Talking about a range of topics related to his career, Worthy explained the importance of having the right teammates. Speaking of Michael Jordan, Worthy talked about the likes of Scottie Pippen and Steve Kerr, claiming that they made his former college teammate much better.
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The two played together at North Carolina with Worthy joining the NBA in 1982 after foregoing his senior year. MJ, on the other hand, joined the league two years later, in 1984, and was always expected to take the league by storm. However, despite his skills, Worthy talked about how it was only after he got the right teammates that MJ started his famous habit of winning every year. The revelations were made during the recent episode 201 of the All The Smoke podcast, released on October 13th.
James Worthy reveals how Michael Jordan’s teammates helped him win
Worthy’s analysis of MJ and his winning habits revolved around some of the most notable teammates that he had. Jordan had to wait until 1991 to land his first championship.
While MJ was the obvious star, especially in the 1991 team, the likes of Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen, and later Dennis Rodman also played important roles. Steve Kerr joined the team for the 1993-94 season John Paxson played with MJ from 1985-1994. Worthy claimed that while Jordan had all the talent in the world, he only started winning when his game was enhanced by some of his most notable teammates:
“He knew about team in Carolina but I don’t think he really mastered it until guys like Horace Grant, Pippen, guys like that. Cartwright was a big part of the conversations with Michael. He had to learn through the Pistons really and once he got past, he trusted his teammates, trusted Paxson, and Kerr, and those guys.
He was driven, but all those guys made him better, They enhanced his game, and that is why they started winning. Lakers were done, Boston was done, Detroit was kind of over. The league was right for Michael. Utah was still there, he had a challenge, but once he tasted the honey, he wanted some more. Once he tasted, that’s it for him. He is like locked in. Once he is locked in, that’s it.”
Worthy himself was a part of an LA Lakers dynasty alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He won 3 NBA titles from 1985-88.
He later went on to talk about MJ’s unparalleled determination and will to win, revealing that Jordan used to win the team’s running drills when he was in North Carolina.
MJ was apparently teased by some of the other younger guards who were in the “A-group,” which was filled with shorter guards who were expected to be the fastest. Jordan was in B-group and told the coach to put him in group A. In typical fashion, he ended up proving to be the fastest in Group A, which was one of the earliest evidence of his almost ludicrous winning spirit.
James Worthy revealed how Michael Jordan was a trash-talker in college too
Worthy revealed that MJ’s competitive nature was all too apparent long before he made the NBA as well. Back in North Carolina, Worthy was once bullied by Michael Jordan and mocked into playing a game despite being senior to MJ.
Worthy revealed that at the time, he was the best player around, and MJ always wanted to measure himself against the best. He joked that he was better than Jordan for about three weeks before he ended up taking over.
Worthy appears to have the highest amount of respect for Jordan, and has also called him the GOAT, in the past. Comparing the 6-time NBA champion to LeBron James, Worthy had claimed that while James was deadly, the kind of tenacity that MJ had simply taken him to another level.
