No. 6 – Bernard King
Although Bernard King played for five NBA teams in his 14-year career, he is most fondly remembered for his four remarkable seasons with the New York Knicks.From 1982-’87, King was one of the best small forwards in the game.
The only player at the time to ever post back-to-back 50-point outings, King was a basketball legend on the playgrounds of NY. For the better part of a decade, he was a hero to a generation of NY basketball fans.
In 1984-’85, King led the NBA in scoring average with 32.9 PPG. That same season he gave fans a Christmas present they’d never forget as he rained in 60 points against the Nets.
After the ’84-’85 season, King injured his ACL. At the time, ligament injuries were almost always career ending. King proved the world wrong, returning in ’86 to play in six more games with the Knicks before parting ways with them that offseason.
King went on to have four more successful years in the league with Washington before finishing up where he started with the Nets. When it was all said and done, he had scored 19,655 points over 14 seasons in The Association.
King was eventually elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. He’s spent a lot of time lately sitting courtside at the Garden watching the latest non-championship contending Knicks team flounder away.
