{"id":1141169,"date":"2020-04-15T12:39:38","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T16:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1141169"},"modified":"2020-04-15T16:12:50","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:12:50","slug":"how-james-worthys-dad-convinced-him-to-wear-no-42-for-the-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/how-james-worthys-dad-convinced-him-to-wear-no-42-for-the-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"How James Worthy's Dad Convinced Him to Wear No. 42 for the Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

James Worthy is one of the best athletes to ever wear the No. 42<\/a>, joining the likes of Mariano Rivera, Ronnie Lott, Pat Tillman, and, of course, the late, great Jackie Robinson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With today being April 15, which has been Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball for quite some time now, I thought I'd take a different approach to this special day and dig into why James Worthy wore No. 42 with the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>. And it didn't surprise me a bit to find out that there is a Jackie Robinson connection, although it didn't come from “Big Game” James himself, but rather through his father and grandfather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the history of the NBA, 165 players have worn the No. 42, including Worthy's former coach Pat Riley. Here's a look at how the best of the bunch came to wear the famous number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Worthy wore No. 52 at North Carolina<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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