Bernard King

Four-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Fame forward known for explosive scoring.

Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets. King is a four-time NBA All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection and led the NBA in scoring in the 1984–85 season. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 8, 2013. His younger brother, Albert, also played in the NBA during his career.

Quick Facts

Born: 4 December 1956
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
High school: Fort Hamilton (Brooklyn, New York)
College: Tennessee (1974–1977)
Draft round: 1
Drafted by: New York Nets
Career position: Small forward
Career number: 22, 30

Lore & Background

Bernard King was born on December 4, 1956, in Brooklyn, New York. He developed his basketball skills on the playgrounds of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. King attended the University of Tennessee, where he had a successful collegiate basketball career. After playing college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers, the New York Nets selected King with the seventh overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft. Months later, the Nets relocated from Uniondale, New York, to New Jersey and became known as the New Jersey Nets. In his rookie season, King set a New Jersey Nets franchise record for most points scored in a season with 1,909, at 24.2 points per game. He would surpass this record with his 2,027-point season in 1983–84. King played for the Utah Jazz in the 1979–80 season and averaged 9.3 points per game in 19 games. The Jazz traded King to the Golden State Warriors before the 1980–81 season. Just before the start of the 1982–83 season, King was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Micheal Ray Richardson. On January 31 and February 1, 1984, King became the first player since Rick Barry in 1967 to score at least 50 points in consecutive games. The next season, on Christmas Day, 1984, King scored 60 points against the New Jersey Nets. At the peak of his career, King suffered a devastating injury to his right leg on March 23, 1985, causing him to miss all of the 1985–86 season. He was released by the Knicks at the end of the 1987 season. King spent the 1987–88 season with the Washington Bullets. After a year-and-a-half hiatus due to yet another knee injury, King returned for a 32-game stint with the New Jersey Nets at the end of the 1992–93 season, until knee problems forced him to retire from the NBA permanently.

Reader's Guide

Bernard King retired with 19,655 points in 874 games, good for a 22.5 points per game average. He was a four-time NBA All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection, and led the NBA in scoring in the 1984–85 season with 32.9 points per game. Basketball legend Julius Erving said King was the toughest player he had ever faced.