A trade fit for a King
New York Knicks trade: Michael Ray Richardson and a 1984 fifth-round pick (Scott McCollum)
Golden State Warriors trade: Bernard King
Unlike DeBusschere and Monroe, Bernard King didn’t win a championship with the New York Knicks. However, his three-year run cemented him as a team legend that was eventually immortalized in basketball greatness.
King joined the Knicks in an Oct. 22, 1982 trade for Michael Ray Richardson and a 1984 fifth-round pick. One of the NBA’s best young scorers, he already played for three teams in five years but peaked in the Big Apple to become dominant.
From 1983-85, King averaged 26.6 points and 5.2 rebounds on 54.5 percent shooting, including his spectacular 32.9 points in 1984-85; it made for his best NBA season, even in just 55 games.
1984-85 also featured King’s 60 points on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden. A historic performance to cement his Knicks legacy and an iconic part of franchise history.
King dealt with injuries, however, and missed the entire 1985-86 season with severe damage to his right leg. He played just eight games in New York upon return, before the team released him in 1987.
Richardson was a standout player for the Knicks, but he lasted just half a season with the Golden State Warriors. Though he had an All-Star season with the New Jersey Nets in 1984-85, accumulating 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
However, Richardson was banned from the NBA in 1986 for violating the league’s drug policy. Then-commissioner David Stern allowed him to return in 1988, but the embattled star opted to play in Europe.
McCollum never played an NBA game.