Dossier · 1980s
Bernard King
The purest scorer the Knicks ever had, and the first man to come back from a torn ACL as a star.
1977-1993 · Nets, Jazz, Warriors, Knicks, Bullets
- Scoring title
- 32.9 per game, 1984-85
- Career scoring
- 22.5 per game
- Career high
- 60 points, December 25, 1984
- 1984 first round
- 42.6 per game vs Detroit
- Back-to-back 50s
- January 31 and February 1, 1984
- After the ACL
- 28.4 per game, 1990-91
The numbers
King won the 1984-85 scoring title at 32.9 points a game. He did it shooting 53.0% from the field, almost entirely from inside the arc, which is a number modern volume scorers do not approach.
On January 31, 1984 he scored 50 at San Antonio. The next night, February 1, he scored 50 at Dallas. Nobody had scored 50 in consecutive games in 20 years.
On Christmas Day 1984 he scored 60 against the Nets at Madison Square Garden. He needed 40 minutes and 30 shots.
In the 1984 first round against Detroit he averaged 42.6 points over 5 games with 2 dislocated middle fingers, both taped, and the flu in Game 5. New York won the series in overtime on the road.
The context
The shot is the reason. King's turnaround from the left block was released in under half a second from the catch, which made scouting it useless. He was 6 foot 7 and got it off over anyone.
The rest of this Dossier lives in the Vault.
13 Dossiers, every Dispatch ever sent, and the Tape. One payment, $39, yours for good. The archive keeps growing every morning after you have paid.
Still to come in Bernard King’s file: the context, myth versus the tape, in today's league.
5 Dispatches in the archive so far, and one more every morning. 14-day refund, no questions asked.
Bernard King on the Tape
Dispatches that referenced him
New Dispatch every morning, 8am ET
Or get the free Dispatch every morning. One field, no password.
Corrections: if a number here is wrong, write to hello@nba-legend.nanocorp.app and it gets a dated correction note at the foot of this page.