Most NBA players have a career that can be said to be "a" shaped, starting from scratch to peak and then slipping in form as they age. But Bernard King was different, and his career was "w" shaped. Debut is the peak, and then because of the indulgence of the career fell into a trough; the prodigal son turned back to the scoring king and then returned to the peak, and then was abandoned by the mother team after injury; returned to the light after two seasons of retirement, averaging 28 points per game to announce the return of the king, and finally retired in a dim manner.
Such a legendary career is staggering, but Bernard King's incredible peak is like his own incredible personality, which once made people think that he was a combination of genius and madness. But such a dual personality is inseparable from the environment in which he grew up in childhood.
Bernard King can be said to be a mysterious star, and it is difficult to interview him off the court. The star's native family is known thanks to Espn's Bernard King series produced a few years ago. From this play, we begin to learn about his lamentable family life before entering the NBA.
Like many black-born NBA players, unfortunate lives are always similar. His parents were so drunk that even though he made a name for himself in the Tennessee High School League, he still didn't get a shred of attention from his parents; and society hit him hard. A child abusive and racist cop gave him mental and physical torture. So as a teenager, Bernard King searched for loneliness in alcohol. Over the past 38 years, the pain and anger that society has brought to him, the abuse and indifference brought by his parents, these have been deep in Bernard King's heart. And these unbearable experiences laid the groundwork for the ups and downs of their NBA careers.
There was no doubt about entering the NBA, and with the seventh pick in 1977, the Nets selected Bernard King, who finally got rid of his childhood nightmare. On the court he is the savior of New Jersey. At 2.01 meters tall, he has a standard small forward figure, super explosiveness and super speed, which makes him available on the court. In his first year in the league, Bernard King let the whole country know him. The rookie season averaged 24 points per game, and he was also successfully selected to the rookie team at the end of the season.
Debut is the peak, which is what many professional players dream of. Everyone felt that Bernard King had rewritten his life. A bright future awaits him. But that's where the tragedy comes. In the third year of his career, Bernard King was traded by the Nets to the frigid City of Utah, and during that trade, his nightmares came.
In the winter of 1978, Bernard King was arrested by police for driving drunk without a license and carrying cocaine. A police spokesman said drug possession and drunk driving could face a year in prison. The team's head coach at the time expressed great disappointment, "I can't understand bernard doing something like this. He's been fantastic all season. As the most talented player at the moment. He did whatever we asked for.".
This incident seriously affected Bernard King's image, and his performance on the court also plummeted. In a year for the Jazz, he only averaged 9 points per game. People think that such a prodigy is destroyed. The Jazz also lost him to the Golden State Warriors.
Who would have thought scorer Bernard King would be back so soon. During his time in the Warriors, Bernard King was fortunate to play with the All-Star players of the time, and his personal data was brilliant. Bernard King became the best "warrior."
If the Warriors saved Bernard's career, the Knicks put him on the throne of "Kings." When a player is active in Madison Gardens wearing a jersey emblazoned with the "king," you're bound to think he's the New York King. In NBA history, only a handful of people have been able to score 40 points in the playoffs while still maintaining a 60% shooting percentage. Chamberlain in 1962, Jordan in 1988 did it! Bernard King in 1984 did just that!
1984 was an important year in the history of the NBA. Jordan, the god of basketball, also landed in the NBA that year. But the biggest news of the year belonged to Bernard King. He scored 32 points in a single season and maintained a 60% shooting percentage and averaged 30 points per game in 40 games in half a season. It's hard to compare any other player in history to Bernard's half-season.
Look at what Dominique Wilkins had to say about Bernard's year. "I've never been afraid of people who are in the right place with me, such as Jordan, Bird, Magician, Dr. J... But only Bernard King was an exception."
Many media will be thrilled by the current NBA stars playing a good result for a while. James, for example, shot a whopping 56 percent from the field in 2013, but Bernard King did it before he experienced injury, averaging a staggering 56 percent in four years from 1980 to 1984. When James scored 30 points in a row and shot 60 percent from the field, no one mentioned that Bernard King had achieved that result in 40 games as early as 1984.
"Who is Bernard King?" "What is Bernard King's number?" "This kind of question must be asked often, which is really impressive." People will be surprised by Kobe Bryant's several consecutive 50+, but know that Bernard Kim did it 20 years before Kobe Bryant.
From peak to trough and back to peak, but injuries still found him. During a dunk that blocked Regis, his right leg suffered a devastating blow. Injuries caused them to miss the entire 1985-1986 season, and the following season only played six games before being abandoned by the Knicks. In the early years in Washington, Bernard's life returned to the trough again. Lacking explosiveness, he averaged "just" 20 points per game during his recovery, which is not enough for the leading scorer.
Honest and old, still able to eat or not. In his final year in Washington, Bernard King returned to the light and re-enacted the return of the king. Averaging 28 points per game, he is in third place on the scoring list, and he is already 34 years old. A blip, the following year of knee injuries forced him to leave the NBA.
Rookie peak, arrest trough, New York Kings, Washington back in the light. The career of the "w" shape is a blockbuster. This is in line with all the elements of Hollywood movies, where the hero suffers and stages the return of the king.
Bernard King is unique in history, and even if prejudices ignore him, his name is not on the NBA's official list of 50 superstars. But the giant star ring will not be hidden, and in 2006 TNT selected "next 10" with Bernard's name. Bernard was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. This is also an embellishment of his legendary career.