Top 10 NBA players all-time who lack a major fan base

7. Bernard King

Bernard who? The New York native was drafted by the New Jersey Nets as an explosive, high scoring small forward where he led the franchise to its first playoff appearance in just his second year. But although he was soon traded to the Knicks, the biggest market in league history, people still look at his name puzzled.

In 1985, with prime Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins, Alex English and Jordan, Bernard King won the scoring title with 32.9 points a game. Although, due to a devastating knee injury, his career was stopped short right before it was about to take off.

King should go down with the Bill Waltons, the Brad Daughertys and the Derrick Roses as a potential all-time great whose full potential was lost due to injury. Instead, he has been largely forgotten, only reminisced about by the old heads of New York basketball.

What makes King so underrated however is that after that gruesome knee injury. Where he tore his ligament, knee cartilage and broke his leg bone. He made a comeback six years later as a member of the Washington Bullets putting up 28.4 a game, making his return to the All-Star game.

Even with the best doctors of today, that story is very rarely repeated. In the words of the fictional boxing champ, “It ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward”.