UNC Basketball: Top 5 UNC power forwards of all time

#1: James Worthy, UNC (1979-1982)

Many people believe that James Worthy is the best power forward to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels ever.

I am one of those people.

Worthy would dunk on ANYONE, no matter who they were. He went toe-to-toe with Virginia’s 7’4″ center Ralph Sampson several times and never feared him. Worthy was one of the first basketball players to “posterize” many of his defenders.

He was the MVP of the 1982 Final Four, when UNC defeated Georgetown 63-62. Worthy was a All-American in 1981 and 1982. He was the Helms Foundation’s 1982 National Player of the Year in 1982. During this same season (1981-82), he was the ACC Athlete of the Year and first-team All ACC.

In the 1982 NBA Draft, Worthy was the overall number one pick selected by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Worthy averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds during his career at UNC. He ranks 54th in scoring all time at UNC (1,219). He does not have the individual statistics that other players have on this list. Keep in mind that Worthy played alongside great players in Al Wood, Mike O’Koren, Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins.

His statistics carry a great deal of weight in this discussion, although his greatness supersedes what he accomplished on a per game basis. Many other UNC players surpassed Worthy’s individual statistics, but very few players dominated the game as good as he did.

Worthy accomplished things no other player ever did at UNC. Worthy is a prime example of a basketball player who went pro at the right time. He was the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four after leading his team to a national championship. Then, he was selected as the number one pick in the NBA Draft.

No other player has experienced this sequence of events, which makes him the best power forward at UNC ever.

Worthy was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2003. He was a part of the 2016 ACC Legends Class, in addition to being named one of the NBA’s 50th greatest players of all time.