35 Years Later, Knicks Decision to Cut Bernard King Still Haunts Them
The New York Knicks have a lot of moments they wish they had back over the years.
It's been 23 years since the Knicks reached the NBA Finals. That appearance, a five-game loss to San Antonio, capped off a period of relative prosperity, having likewise earned the Eastern Conference crown in 1994. However, their time could have been sooner if they had made a different decision in the late 1980s.
Bleacher Report polled local experts and asked them about the biggest "What If" moment in each NBA franchise's history. Knicks Film School suggested that the Knicks' biggest moment was the release of Bernard King at the end of the 1986-87 season.
“Ultimately, this isn't a perfect what-if, because King's return was short-lived thanks to another knee injury in 1991," Knicks Film School wrote. "Still, the greatest question in franchise history will always be what Ewing would have been able to do with a true running mate. We nearly had the answer, but unfortunately, Knicks fans will always be left guessing.”
King's career is a giant "what if" in and of itself. Had he stayed healthy, he would have likely been seen as one of the greatest players of his generation.
In the mid-80s, King was the franchise face of the Knicks and won the 1984-85 scoring title by averaging 32.9 points per game, besting Larry Bird by over four points.
That summer, the Knicks scored the No. 1 pick and drafted Patrick Ewing, who would help lead New York for the next 15 years.
The front office subsequently built the team around Ewing by adding Charles Oakley and 1988 Rookie of the Year Mark Jackson. Concurrently, King suffered another injury and missed the entire 1985-86 season and played just six games the following year. The team released him, but ultimately looking back, it made a mistake.
King regained his form with the Washington Bullets and even made another All-Star team in 1991, averaging 28.1 points per game (third-best in the league behind Michael Jordan and Karl Malone). He fell victim to another knee injury that kept him out for the next year-and-a-half before ending his career with a 32-game stint with the New Jersey Nets. Despite his injuries, King was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2013.
If King stayed healthy and played alongside Ewing in his prime, the Knicks would have had a true winning contender to challenge Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. Whether King's involvement could've helped them take down the mighty Bulls is a question that will haunt Knicks fans for a long, long time.
