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A star who seen it all in his career. A quick rise to stardom, to bench obscurity back to stardom only to have it ruined by an injury. Bernard King is a player many have forgotten but the die hard’s still debate about. There is no question he had the talent to be a top 25 player of all-time but injuries and work ethic questions derailed him.
King attended the University of Tennessee where he played three years of varsity and became one of the schools all time greats. He averaged 25 or more points and 12 or more rebounds all three seasons. He appeared in 76 career games and owned averages of 26 points and 13 rebounds a game.
The New Jersey Nets selected King with the 7th overall pick in 1977. King would have a spectacular rookie season and set many Net’s franchise records including points in a season by a rookie. In his rookie year he averaged 24 points and 9 and a half rebounds and made the all-rookie team.
He played only two seasons with the Nets before he was traded to the Utah Jazz for Rich Kelley. He played in only 19 games for the Jazz and had one of the worst seasons of his career. This was mainly due to King having to back up Adrian Dantley which upset King. After an injury King sat out the remainder of the season and asked to be traded.
The Jazz traded King to the Golden State Warriors the following season where King’s career once again blossomed. He averaged 22 points his first year with the Warriors compared to just 9 with the Jazz and appeared in all but one game, he also appeared in his first all-star game. He played two seasons with the Warriors before being traded to the New York Knicks.
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