Bernard King: The King of New York

Bernard King /  Panini 

Bernard King was among the premier NBA players of the 1980s. The man formerly known as, “The King of New York,” came from humble beginnings. King grew up in the rough Brooklyn Fort Greene Houses, in what he once described as void of love. He attributes his game time scowl to his difficult upbringing.

Despite all these obstacles, King found success in the basketball world. He was recognized as an All-City player in his senior year at Fort Hamilton High School. His excellence on the court led to several Division I athletic scholarship offers. King chose to enroll at the University of Tennessee in 1974, joining fellow New York product Ernie Grunfeld.

King and Grunfeld formed “The Bernie and Ernie Show,” with their stellar play together from 1974 through 1977. This partnership was highlighted by a Sports Illustrated cover released on February 9, 1976.

King was a first team All-American in 1977. After his junior year at Tennessee, King declared for the NBA draft. He was drafted 7th overall in the 1977 draft by the New Jersey Nets. King led all rookies in scoring that year with the New Jersey Nets. After two years of spectacular play with the Nets, King was traded along with John Gianelli and Jim Boylan to the Utah Jazz for Rich Kelley.

King would eventually go on to play for his hometown Knicks, leaving his mark as one of their greatest players ever. In admiration of King's talent, Coach Hubie Brown said, “With Bernard, even when the play is busted, something good always materializes from it.”

He became the most prolific scorer in the '77 draft, including NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. As a four-time All-Star and top 50 NBA career total scorer, King managed to join the selective group of athletes who have been recognized as Hall of Famers.

Dellin Betances living the dream of playing for Yankees

Before Dellin Betances was a star reliever for the New York Yankees, he was a superb pitcher while at Grand Street Campus High School in Brooklyn, just over 11 miles away from Yankee Stadium. Like many New Yorkers, Betances grew up wanting to play for the Yankees; however, Betances was one of the few to realize his dream.

Dellin Betances / Topps

As a high school freshman, Betances was already throwing a fastball in the mid 80s, showing professional potential in just his first year. He was also on his high school’s basketball team, but he stopped playing after an elbow to the mouth knocked out a few of his teeth. After that incident, Betances focused his attention towards baseball.

During his high school career, he was selected to play in the prestigious Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic in the summer before his senior year. By then, Betances had grown to 6’8" and touched 97 MPH on his fastball, drawing the attention of many major league scouts. He was initially projected to be drafted in the first round, but some teams were worried about his consistency and lack of experience.

As a result of these concerns, Betances fell to the eighth round, where he was selected by the Yankees. Betances struggled with his control for a while in the minor leagues, but made his way to the majors in 2011. Betances was selected to the All-Star game twice in his career, and holds the record for most strikeouts in a single season by a Yankee reliever with 135.

Betances’ career is very young, but he is on the path for greatness. With all of the accomplishments that he earned, none may compare to living the dream of playing for his favorite childhood team.