Bernard King Scared Dominique Wilkins?

Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins played against numerous Hall of Fame players, including Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkey, and Patrick Ewing. However, according to Wilkins, only one player caused him to think twice about an upcoming matchup. Bernard King spent four seasons with the New York Knicks, and that star caused Wilkins to sleep with one eye open.

"I never feared anybody I played against. The only man to ever scare the hell out of me was Bernard King. He's the only guy I couldn't sleep the night before I had to play him," Wilkins said on All the Smoke podcast .

King played for 14 seasons, making four All-Star games and earned the scoring title for the 1984-85 season. He currently stands as the 57th highest scoring player in NBA history. Before Carmelo Anthony, King made noise in New York, and held such an esteem opposing players respected him as scoring threat.

However, although Wilkins sounded genuine in his commentary of King, either he didn't look at the numbers or he's being diplomatic to the Hall of Famer who asked the Atlanta Hawks legend to introduce him at the 2013 induction.

Wilkins is 16-14 against King. The Hawks weren't worldbeaters, as the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and Chicago Bulls stood in the way of championship contention. However, the Hawks made the playoffs for eight seasons with Wilkins as the star.

Perhaps King's teams didn't fare well, but he got the indivual battle against Wilkins. The stats show Wilkins won in the socring department too.

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Wilkins averaged 23.9 points over King's 19.6 points over the 30-game stretch.

Nonetheless, Wilkins' glowing praise abot King speaks to his legend, and their mutual respect for each other.