Lakers great James Worthy and rookie Julius Randle had a lot in common before Randle was carried off the court during his first professional game with the Lakers. At #7, Randle was the highest draft choice the Lakers have had since Worthy was drafted with the first overall pick in 1982. Both were athletic forwards with massive skill sets. Randle would love to have a career like Worthy’s. Worthy is a top 50 of all time selection and a Hall-of-Famer with multiple championship rings.
But the 19-year-old Randle is probably lying in his hospital bed wishing he didn’t have to follow Worthy’s path to greatness quite so literally. Randle snapped his tibia in his debut and he’ll miss his entire rookie season. Worthy was quick to tweet that he had the same injury as Randle way back when–and to tell the young player that it worked out all right.
I had the same injury as @J30_RANDLE – he’ll recover fine. #StayStrong
— James Worthy (@JamesWorthy42) October 29, 2014
