From hall-of-fame NBA legend James Worthy, a searing, intimate memoir that tells the story of a man at home on the court but unsure of his place in the world, who played alongside all-time greats like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, but privately struggled with self-worth and mental health; offering both an exhilarating glimpse into basketball’s golden age and a reflection on how athletes are objectified but not taught, criticized but not mentored, and unprepared for the challenges of fame.
James Worthy is one of the best players in basketball history. He was a star in the sport’s golden age, first for one of the NCAA’s storied teams, then for the NBA’s flashiest. For the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s and early 1990s, he was the go-to guy in clutch situations; they called him Big Game James.
And yet, he was the quiet man in that crowd. He wasn’t a charming showboat like Magic Johnson, nor an enigmatic philosopher like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He was a soft-spoken man from rural North Carolina, at home on the court but unsure of his place in that chaotic and glamorous moment. He didn’t know how to ask for help with finances or the media or his wavering sense of self-worth. Though it’s hard to imagine a 6-foot-9-inch world-class athlete disappearing from view, James Ager Worthy didn’t yet know his own voice.
After years of reckoning with his past and investing in the future by way of raising his two daughters, he knows it now.
In his memoir, Becoming Worthy, James Worthy tells his story for the first time. This is a basketball story. James was recruited by North Carolina coach Dean Smith, led the Tarheels to the 1982 championship, became the number one pick in the NBA draft, won three NBA championships, and is now revered as one of the top players in the league’s history. He played alongside Michael Jordan in college, played against Larry Bird and Charles Barkley in the NBA, and worked with Lakers players after his retirement—including Kobe Bryant, who summoned James to the gym on a Sunday night because he needed to master a piece of Worthy footwork.
This is a story of fathers and sons—or in this case, the story of a son haunted by his father’s brooding silence and the void it created in his heart. It wasn’t until Smith took him under his wing at UNC that James even grasped what a father could be, and it has taken him a lifetime to come to terms with what he didn’t have with his own dad, and what he needs to bring to his relationships with his daughters.
This is a story of public celebrity and private struggle. From his presence on the court to his surprising cameos (including as a tall Klingon in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation), James was on the scene. But in a moment that haunts him to this day, he was arrested for soliciting prostitution in 1990, an event that reveals how lost he felt at the height of his fame, and which he writes about with searing candor.
Giving the rare fresh glimpse of basketball’s golden age, Becoming Worthy will draw hoops fans who watched The Last Dance and Winning Time and those who read Scottie Pippin’s Unguarded, West by West by Jerry West, and The Sixth Man by Andre Iguodala. An inspiring, intimate, and heartfelt story for basketball fans and anyone who has struggled to find themself.
