What do besketball greats James worthy and sleepy Floyd have in common?

Answer 1

James Worthy and Eric "Sleepy" Floyd are from the same home town, Gastonia, North Carolina. They attended in-town rival public high schools at the same time (Floyd being one year older than Worthy) so they, no doubt, knew each other and faced each other on the court many times. Later, they would again face each other in the 1982 NCAA National Championship Game, with Worthy's North Carolina Tar Heels defeating Floyd's Georgetown Hoyas, a game probably best remembered for Michael Jordan's go-ahead jump shot in the closing seconds. Worthy and Floyd would both be taken in the 1982 NBA draft (Worthy No. 1 overall, Floyd with the 13th pick). They would spend several season as opponents in the same division, Worthy with the Los Angeles Lakers, Floyd with the Golden State Warriors. It was, in fact, in a playoff game against Worthy's Lakers on May 10, 1987, that Sleepy Floyd would have one of the greatest individual performances in NBA playoff history, scoring 51 points in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series. Floyd would score 39 points in the 2nd half, including 29 in the fourth quarter (both NBA records which still stand) to lead the Warriors to a Game 4 victory. The Lakers, however, would win the series and go on to win the first of their back-to-back Championships. As you can see, James Worthy and Sleepy Floyd, rivals in high school, college and the pros, have a lot in common. -- DC, Edison, NJ