Bernard King vs. James Worthy Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Worthy and Bernard King, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Bernard King played 14 years in the NBA, 2 more than James Worthy, who played 12. Bernard King had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while James Worthy had his rookie season in 1982-83. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1977-78	1982-83
Team	New Jersey Nets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	79	39.1	24.2	3.4	6.2	9.5	2.4	1.5	0.5	3.9	3.8	10.1	21.1	.479	-	-	-	4.0	5.8	.677
difference:	+2	+13.5	+10.8	+1.4	+3.1	+4.3	+0.7	+0.3	+0.3	-1.6	-0.9	+4.3	+11.1	+.100				+2.2	+2.9	+.053
James Worthy	77	25.6	13.4	2.0	3.1	5.2	1.7	1.2	0.8	2.3	2.9	5.8	10.0	.579	0.0	0.1	.250	1.8	2.9	.624
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Bernard King nor James Worthy played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	19	22.1	9.3	1.3	3.4	4.6	2.7	0.4	0.2	2.6	3.5	3.7	7.2	.518	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.3	.540
difference:	+61	+11.6	+8.3	+0.8	+0.9	+1.8	+0.2	+0.7	+0.6	-0.1	-1.0	+3.9	+6.1	+.054		+0.1		+0.6	+0.2	+.236
James Worthy	80	33.7	17.6	2.1	4.3	6.4	2.5	1.1	0.8	2.5	2.5	7.6	13.3	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.776
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	19	32.9	21.5	1.8	3.2	5.1	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	2.8	8.7	14.1	.622	0.1	0.1	.500	3.9	5.8	.676

Season 4
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1980-81	1985-86
Team	Golden State Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	81	36.0	21.9	2.2	4.6	6.8	3.5	0.9	0.4	3.3	3.8	9.0	15.4	.588	0.0	0.1	.333	3.8	5.4	.703
difference:	+6	+3.3	+1.9	+0.4	+1.3	+1.6	+0.8	+0.2	+0.6	-1.3	-1.2	+0.6	+0.9	+.009		+0.1	+.333	+0.6	+1.2	+.068
James Worthy	75	32.7	20.0	1.8	3.3	5.2	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.0	2.6	8.4	14.5	.579	0.0	0.2	.000	3.2	4.2	.771
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	14	38.5	19.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	3.2	1.1	0.7	2.6	3.1	8.6	15.5	.558	0.0	0.3	.000	2.3	3.4	.681

Season 5
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1981-82	1986-87
Team	Golden State Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	79	36.2	23.2	1.8	4.2	5.9	3.6	1.0	0.3	3.4	3.6	9.4	16.5	.566	0.0	0.1	.200	4.5	6.3	.705
difference:	+3	+1.8	+3.8	+0.1	+0.4	+0.2	+0.8	+0.3	+0.7	-1.4	-1.1	+1.5	+1.8	+.027		+0.1	+.200	+0.9	+1.6	+.046
James Worthy	82	34.4	19.4	1.9	3.8	5.7	2.8	1.3	1.0	2.0	2.5	7.9	14.7	.539	0.0	0.2	.000	3.6	4.7	.751
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	18	37.8	23.6	1.7	3.9	5.6	3.5	1.6	1.2	2.2	2.3	9.8	16.6	.591	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.4	.753

Season 6
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1982-83	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	68	32.5	21.9	1.5	3.3	4.8	2.9	1.3	0.2	2.9	3.4	8.9	16.8	.528	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.7	.722
difference:	+7	+2.9	+2.2	+0.2		+0.2	+1.0	+0.3	+0.5	-0.8	-1.1	+0.7	+1.3	+.003		+0.1	+.125	+0.9	+1.6	+.074
James Worthy	75	35.4	19.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	3.9	1.0	0.7	2.1	2.3	8.2	15.5	.531	0.0	0.2	.125	3.2	4.1	.796
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	6	30.7	23.5	1.3	2.7	4.0	2.2	0.3	0.0	1.7	2.7	9.3	16.2	.577	0.2	0.5	.333	4.7	5.8	.800
difference:	+18	+6.6	+2.4	+0.9	+0.9	+1.8	+2.2	+1.1	+0.8	-0.6	-0.3	+0.8	+0.1	+.054	+0.2	+0.1	+.222	+0.7	+0.5	+.042
James Worthy	24	37.3	21.1	2.2	3.6	5.8	4.4	1.4	0.8	2.3	2.4	8.5	16.3	.523	0.0	0.4	.111	4.0	5.3	.758

Season 7
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1983-84	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	77	34.6	26.3	1.6	3.5	5.1	2.1	1.0	0.2	2.6	3.5	10.3	18.1	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	5.7	7.3	.779
difference:	+4	+1.9	+5.8	+0.5	+0.5	+0.9	+1.5	+0.3	+0.5	-0.4	-1.3	+1.6	+2.3	+.024		+0.2	+.087	+2.6	+3.3	+.003
James Worthy	81	36.5	20.5	2.1	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.3	0.7	2.2	2.2	8.7	15.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.087	3.1	4.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	12	39.8	34.8	2.3	3.8	6.2	3.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	4.0	13.5	23.5	.574	0.0	0.1	.000	7.8	10.3	.756
difference:	+3	+0.2	+10.0	+0.2	+0.5	+0.5	+0.2		+0.6	-0.4	-1.6	+3.3	+5.5	+.007	+0.2	+0.4	+.375	+3.6	+5.0	+.032
James Worthy	15	40.0	24.8	2.5	4.3	6.7	2.8	1.2	1.1	2.2	2.4	10.2	18.0	.567	0.2	0.5	.375	4.2	5.3	.788

Season 8
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1984-85	1989-90
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	55	37.5	32.9	2.1	3.7	5.8	3.7	1.3	0.3	3.7	3.5	12.6	23.7	.530	0.0	0.2	.100	7.7	10.0	.772
difference:	+25	+0.5	+11.8	+0.1	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1	+0.1	+0.3	-1.7	-1.1	+3.7	+7.5	+.018	+0.2	+0.4	+.206	+4.6	+6.0	+.010
James Worthy	80	37.0	21.1	2.0	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.2	0.6	2.0	2.4	8.9	16.2	.548	0.2	0.6	.306	3.1	4.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	9	40.7	24.2	1.2	4.3	5.6	3.0	1.6	0.3	2.4	2.0	10.0	20.1	.497	0.2	0.9	.250	4.0	4.8	.837

Note: Bernard King didn't play in 1985-86.

Season 9
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1986-87	1990-91
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	6	35.7	22.7	2.2	3.2	5.3	3.2	0.3	0.0	2.5	2.3	8.7	17.5	.495	0.0	0.0	-	5.3	7.2	.744
difference:	+72	+2.9	+1.3	+0.8		+0.7	+0.3	+1.0	+0.4	-0.9	-0.8	+0.5	+1.2	+.003	+0.3	+1.2		+2.6	+3.8	+.053
James Worthy	78	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.2	4.6	3.5	1.3	0.4	1.6	1.5	9.2	18.7	.492	0.3	1.2	.289	2.7	3.4	.797
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	18	40.7	21.1	1.4	2.7	4.1	3.9	1.1	0.1	2.2	1.9	8.9	19.2	.465	0.2	1.3	.167	2.9	4.0	.736

Season 10
	Bernard King	James Worthy
Season	1987-88	1991-92
Team	Washington Bullets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	69	29.6	17.2	1.2	2.8	4.1	2.8	0.7	0.1	3.1	2.9	6.8	13.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	3.6	4.7	.762
difference:	+15	+9.4	+2.7	+0.6	+1.0	+1.5	+1.9	+0.7	+0.3	-0.7	-1.3	+1.5	+5.0	+.054	+0.2	+0.7	+.042	+0.5	+0.9	+.052
James Worthy	54	39.0	19.9	1.8	3.8	5.6	4.7	1.4	0.4	2.4	1.6	8.3	18.6	.447	0.2	0.8	.209	3.1	3.8	.814
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	5	33.6	13.8	0.6	1.6	2.2	1.8	0.6	0.0	2.8	3.4	5.2	10.6	.491	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	4.2	.810
James Worthy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Bernard King played 2 seasons more than James Worthy in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 14, from 1991 to 1993—Bernard King played in one postseason. In those 2 extra years over James Worthy, Bernard King got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Star Game