Bernard King started and ended his Hall of Fame career with the New Jersey Nets, bouncing around to four other teams in between.
With the NBA on hiatus — which NBA commissioner Adam Silver set at 30 days — and New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, placing a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, no Brooklyn Nets games will be played for the time being.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight major individual performances and key developments throughout Nets history:
Well before he dropped 60 on the New Jersey Nets on Christmas Day in 1984, Bernard King was a member of the New Jersey Nets.
Selected No. 7 overall in the 1977 NBA draft, King didn’t waste much time taking over, logging his first double-double (18 points and 12 rebounds) in his second NBA game. He finished with 19 double-doubles by the end of the 1977-78 season.
King’s highest scoring night came on January 4 (44 points), his second 40-point game — both performances being double-doubles. But the Nets forward logged his highest rebound total as a rookie on March 22, 1978, when the New Jersey knocked off the Chicago Bulls 105-99 (full box score).
King came two rebounds shy of 20 total and logged over 10 defensive rebounds (14) for the first time in his NBA career. The Nets rookie also led the team in scoring with 33 points on 14-for-26 shooting.
There was another statistical category in which King logged double figures, though he didn’t log a triple-double. That’s because the category was turnovers, of which King committed 10. He did that twice as a rookie.
Wilson Washington also had a double-double in the win, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. John Williamson scored 23 for the Nets, while Kevin Porter scored 13 and had seven assists.
Three Bulls logged double-doubles: Mickey Johnson (22 points and 10 rebounds), Mark Landsberger (13 points and 15 rebounds) and Artis Gilmore (23 points and 16 rebounds). Gilmore also blocked four shots.
