Education
University of Kansas.
University of Kansas.
King played collegiately for the Kansas Jayhawks and was the first black starter in Kansas basketball history in 1954. A teammate of Wilt Chamberlain, he scored 11 points in the famous 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship game, where the Jayhawks lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in triple-overtime. The 6 ft 2 in (188 m), 195 lb (88 kg.
139 st) guard was selected out of the University of Kansas by the Boston Celtics with the 48th overall pick in the 6th round of the 1957 National Basketball Association Draft.
In 1957, King was drafted into the army. When he finished serving his two-year commitment, he joined the Celtics.
He played only one game with the Celtics in 1959 (scoring ten points), before he joined the Baltimore Bullets in the Eastern Professional Basketball League. He then joined the Kansas City Steers of the American Basketball League. In the league"s fledgling season, King averaged 7.8 points per game, and led the team with an average of 3.2 assists.
In Kansas City"s second season, King averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 assists before the league folded in mid-season in the winter of 1963.
King immediately signed with the Chicago Zephyrs of the National Basketball Association, and played in 37 games, averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 assists.