Donté Adams and his family were in for a pleasant surprise when a Spectrum representative arrived at their house for a routine cable installation on March 2.
At their doorstep was Showtime Lakers legend and basketball analyst James Worthy.
“It’s beyond surprise, beyond shock,” said Adams. “I was just trying to schedule a cable install for my family and we opened the door and there’s James Worthy.”
Spectrum SportsNet doted upon their new customers by allowing them to meet Worthy during their cable installation. The family was also given free coffee, doughnuts, and tickets to a Lakers game among other treats.
“It’s just an appreciation for people in the vicinity who support the Lakers and support Spectrum,” Worthy said.
Adams, his sister Nekia Gilmore-Jones, and their mother Jessica Gilmore are Lakers fans and were excited to meet the iconic basketball player while having their cable installed.
“My whole family [has] grown up with the Lakers,” said Gilmore-Jones. “I didn’t expect James Worthy to ring my doorbell this morning.”
Gilmore-Jones mentioned they ordered phone, cable, and internet services. The services will aide her and her two children.
“We definitely need the internet with the kids being in school and I’m trying to be a returning college student,” Gilmore-Jones said.
The family lived in Inglewood, a neighborhood that is all too familiar to Worthy from his days playing for the Lakers back in the 1980’s.
“I got to know a lot of people over the years from going to the barber shops, from going to churches, from going to the grocery stores,” Worthy said. “A lot of the employees that work at the venues, you get to know them over time,”
Adams recalled his teenage years at Inglewood High School, he would stand outside of The Forum with hopes of catching a glimpse of Lakers players.
“A couple times, I actually got a chance to go in and to watch Lakers games,” Adams said. “He was one of the greatest players on the team.”
Jose Valdez, the Spectrum field technician who completed the installation, is also a Laker fan who was ecstatic about the experience.
“Just seeing another fan’s reaction, his happiness transcended to my happiness,” Valdez said. “It puts a smile on my face that people still recognize a great Lakers Legend, Hall of Famer like James Worthy.”
Worthy, also known as “Big Game James,” was the first overall pick in the 1982 NBA draft and was sent to the Lakers. Alongside greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, and Magic Johnson, Worthy aided the franchise to three championships. In 1988, Worthy was awarded NBA Finals MVP when the Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons.
The seven-time NBA All-Star spent his entire career with the Lakers. Worthy mentioned how meeting loyal Lakers fans who appreciated his efforts is uplifting amidst the rebuilding struggles the current squad is enduring.
“It absolutely gives me strength when sometimes I don’t have it,” Worthy said. “We know we have to communicate something to our fans because they’re still here,”
