North Carolina - James Worthy

North Carolina - James Worthy

Bob McAdoo, Walt Bellamy, and Chris Paul all hail from North Carolina but they still weren't able or haven't created a legacy for themselves like 'Big Game' James. Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, James Worthy went on to lead his home state North Carolina Tar Heels to an NCAA National Championship in 1982. Worthy was named College Basketball Player of the Year and the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. With a resume like that under his belt, Worthy was drafted first overall in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers where he would play his entire twelve-year career.

Sometimes people forget that if James Worthy wasn't around, the 'Showtime' era the LA Lakers embodied throughout the '80s wouldn't exist without James. His ability to catch flight, change direction, and float in the air was uncanny. Worthy played unselfish basketball and was always in the right place at the right time. He helped the Lakers win three NBA Championships (1985, 1987, 1988), was named NBA Finals MVP in 1988, and was a 7x NBA All-Star. To this very day, James is an important part of the Lakers organization working as an analyst on the team's broadcast television network.

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Did You Know...

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Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.

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Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.

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Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.

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Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.

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