James Worthy Throws Major Shade at Lakers Star

Ricardo Klein | Dec 1, 2024

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great James Worthy is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to look like the squad that started the season 3-0 and appeared to be on the rise.

The Lakers suffered their fourth loss in their last five games and have dropped to an 11-8 record. The Lakers' latest loss came to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, losing to the top-seed Thunder by the final score of 101-93.

The Lakers struggled to capitalize in the final minutes of the game, including some bad turnovers and costly mistakes. However, the play of their star duo was the most costly.

LeBron James was a shell of himself, and the same can be said for L.A.'s other superstar, center Anthony Davis. Davis arguably had his worst game for the season, and this past week has not been kind to him.

Davis was only able to muster 15 points and 12 rebounds in 38 minutes of action. His performance was so bad that Lakers legend and Hall of Famer James Worthy slammed Davis' lackluster effort.

“AD has proven that he’s not the type of player who, when he gets the ball, will take control and say, ‘Give me the damn ball,’” Worthy said. “He hasn’t proven to be that guy, so he’ll fade.”

James Worthy:

“[Anthony Davis] has proven that he’s not the player to say, ‘Give me the damn ball.’ He’ll fade.”

AD only had ONE shot attempt in the 4th quarter last night. (h/t @LakersDailyCom) pic.twitter.com/GoAvPfmBXg

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 30, 2024

Davis only attempted nine shots and made five of them. He went to the free-throw line seven times and knocked down five of them. Davis also recorded seven assists, four blocks, and one steal. He was a -5 in the plus/minus category.

It was a horrid display by the early-season MVP candidate, and his performance cost the Lakers that game.

Worthy is never one to beat around the bush, especially when it comes to the team he spent 12 years of his Hall of Fame career with. Worthy was incredible for the Lakers as he was a seven-time All-Star, three-time champion, two-time All-NBA, 1988 NBA Finals MVP, and a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

"Big Game James" played in 926 NBA regular season games, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.0 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 percent shooting. 

Worthy could be counted on when it mattered most, and he wants Davis to do the same for his team.

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