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The attention of NBA fans has largely been centered on All-Star Weekend and the looming trade deadline. As part of this weekend’s festivities in Houston, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced 12 finalists for it’s Class of 2013. The list includes notable former players Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond and coaches Rick Pitino and Jerry Tarkanian.
Another of the more notable players among the finalists for election this year is Bernard King. He played 14 NBA seasons (1977-78 to 1992-93) with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Washington Bullets. He was one of the most prolific scorers of his era, averaging 20 or more points per game in a season 11 times, though he did play just six games in one of those seasons (1986-87). He led the league in scoring once, averaging 32.9 points per game average with the Knicks during the 1984-85 season.
King averaged 22.5 points per game (currently 25th highest in NBA history) for his career, and finished with 19,655 points (currently 40th in NBA history). He surely would have reached 20,000 career points if not for missing two entire seasons (1985-86 and 1991-92) and most of two others, due first to a substance abuse issue and later two knee injuries.
In fact, King only played 80 or more games in a season four times, so he left a lot of production on the table and better health would have put him (and kept him) higher on the league’s all-time scoring list when he retired after the 1992-93 season.
Critics of King’s Hall of Fame candidacy will point to his only being selected to four All-Star games in his career (1982, 1984, 1985, 1991) as well as his relative lack of longevity and durability (874 career games played). But he belongs in the conversation with the top frontcourt scorers in league history, and hopefully at the NCAA Final Four in April, he will finally get his due as a Hall of Famer.
Brad Berreman is a contributing writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradberreman24.
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