The Only Player Who Gave Hall Of Famer Dominique Wilkins Nightmares On The Court

Shandel Richardson | Sep 17, 2024

Feb 7, 1985; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; New York Knicks forward Bernard King (30) against the Portland Trail Blazers at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images / Imagn Images

Few of his NBA peers would refer to Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins as a defensive-stopper.

That end of the court was never his specialty. His strength was offense but there was especially one player he hated to line up against.

Scoring machine Bernard King, who is one of the all-time bucket-getters in league history. Wilkins said King gave him nightmares because they defended each other at small forward during the 1980s.

"That's the only guy that scared the hell out of me, Bernard King," Wilkins said on the All The Smoke Podcast. "I couldn't sleep the night before I had to play against him.

Posted by All the Smoke on Wednesday, September 11, 2024

King averaged 22.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his career from 1978-93. After starting with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors, he hit stride with the New York Knicks. He followed up a 26.3 points per game season in 1983-84 with a career-best 32.9.

Some thought the show was over when a knee injury caused him to miss the 1985-86 season. He was later traded to the Washington Bullets, but King once again returned to the top by averaging 28.4 in 1990-91.

King, who never made it past the second round of the playoffs, finally got his due when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, He was introduced by Wilkins.

"I said, `I ain't feared anybody,"' Wilkins said. "You're the only guy that ever scared the shit out of me. He laughed and I said, `Why you laughing?' He said, `Because you scared the shit out of me, too."'

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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