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Player profile · CHI / UTA
Sam Worthen
Sam Worthen stats, teams and career impact
#2232 all-timeCareer averages · 3.5 PPG · 1.7 RPG · 1.7 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Point guard
- Final NBA team
- Utah Jazz
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) · 195 lb (88 kg)
- Born
- January 17, 1958 (68 yrs old)
- College
- Marquette
- NBA seasons
- 2 seasons · 1980–81 to 1981–82
Career summarySam Worthen was a point guard who played 2 NBA seasons, from 1980–81 through 1981–82.
- Career PPG
- 3.5
- Career RPG
- 1.7
- Career APG
- 1.7
- #215 in 1980–81
- #2232 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Sam Worthen ranks #2232 all time
Sam Worthen ranks #2232 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #238.3. His full-career value ranks #3417, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
450+ minutes required per season
69 games · Career Value Rank #3417
Head to head
Compare Sam Worthen with…
Suggested matchups from basketball rivalries, comparable roles, and similar careers. Compare career impact, peak seasons, and the numbers behind the result.
- Sam Worthen vs. Brian Oliver Similar career path
- Sam Worthen vs. Keyon Dooling Similar career path
- Sam Worthen vs. Jim Fritsche Similar career path
- Sam Worthen vs. Nate Wolters Similar career path
- Sam Worthen vs. John Jenkins Similar career path
- Sam Worthen vs. Marty Byrnes Similar career path
- Sam Worthen vs. Reggie Carter Same-era comparison
- Sam Worthen vs. Cedrick Hordges Same-era comparison
- Sam Worthen vs. Craig Shelton Same-era comparison
- Sam Worthen vs. Mike Harper Same-era comparison
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 49.2%FG%
- Three-point
- 0.0%3P%
- Free throw
- 75.0%FT%
69 career games · 967 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Sam Worthen stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–82 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | -11.19 | UTA | 5 | 0 | 4.4 | 40.0% | — | — | — | -4.4 |
| 1980–81 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | -2.86 | CHI | 64 | 0 | 14.8 | 49.5% | 0.0% | 75.0% | #215 | -17.0 |
| Career | 3.5 | 1.7 | 1.7 | — | CHI/UTA | 69 | — | 14.0 | 49.2% | 0.0% | 75.0% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
241.4 composite · lower is better
243.0 average league finish
-21 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How Sam Worthen ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score241.4
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 250.0
- Qualified seasons
- 1
- All-time rank
- #2232
Strongest seasons
Every season
Sam Worthen advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
Career movement
Sam Worthen's box impact by season
Peak box impact -2.86 points per 100 possessions in 1980–81 · 2 seasons · 967 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutes
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Early-career comparison
Compare the first 2 seasons
Both players are limited to their first 2 seasons. Later seasons never affect the selection or score, and the result is not a career prediction.
Sam WorthenBrian Oliver
| NBA season | Sam Worthen | Brian Oliver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | -2.9 | -3.8 |
| 2 | -11.2 | -9.7 |
NBA season number · first 2 seasons only
Similar starts
Players with starts similar to Sam Worthen
The start-similarity percentile compares era-relative impact, season-relative workload, trajectory, debut age, and role across exactly 2 seasons and 2,352 eligible starts. Higher means closer; it is not a probability or forecast.
SG · All-Time Career #2575
Brian Oliver
98.6start similarity percentile
Impact: very closeWorkload: very closeTrend: closeAge: very closeRole: close
Medium evidence · first 2 seasonsClosest early-season pairing · 1980–81 ↔ 1990–91PG · All-Time Career #1915Keyon Dooling
96.4start similarity percentile
Impact: very closeWorkload: closeTrend: very closeAge: closeRole: very close
Medium evidence · first 2 seasonsClosest early-season pairing · 1980–81 ↔ 2000–01PF · All-Time Career #820Jim Fritsche
95.9start similarity percentile
Impact: very closeWorkload: very closeTrend: very closeAge: very closeRole: different
Medium evidence · first 2 seasonsClosest early-season pairing · 1980–81 ↔ 1953–54Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →