It's been nearly 40 years since Bernard King stepped onto the garden floor wearing orange and blue.
It's been more than a quarter of a century since the Brooklyn-born star lived in a metropolitan area.
Still, the 68-year-old Hall of Fame is spending his golden age, fascinated by the Knicks' pursuit of the championship.
Even during the West Coast swing of his last five games, even if the fourth quarter crossed early in the morning at his Atlanta area home.
“I'm watching all the games, are you kidding me?” King said in an interview with a recent post. “My heart is always the same as the Knicks. I love the Knicks… I'm Nick.”
His spiritual successor, Jalen Brunson, is on the sidelines with an ankle injury that missed his fifth straight game with the heat last night, but King has found a new reason to believe in the team.
Wednesday's thrilling overtime victory with the Trail Blazers will be remembered by a 3-pointer stabbing Mikal Bridge's buzzer.
King's focus remained on the strange sales that preceded it, and was fucked by Josh Hart.
“If you saw that shot on the sideline, no one would bow your head,” King said. “They weren't disappointed. They were united. It's a very accomplished team mark because it shows they're confident regardless of the situation. They know they can still win.”
There's confidence that the Knicks can win any night – unless they face Tom Thibodeau's team and one of the league's top title contenders (Celtics, Cavaliers, Thunder) who are totaling 7-0.
Still, the Knicks are paced to complete their first season of 50 wins in 30 years, with the franchise's first All-Star teammate (Branson, Karl Anthony Town) taking their first spot in 50 years.
It was only two years ago that the Knicks finished eight games under .500. For most of this century, teams weren't expecting to win one playoff series in 22 years.
“The building is now surfaced,” King said. “The fans are very excited about the possibility. And I love what you see on this team. They love competition, so they'll have an incredible amount of success. You have to have that mindset. Under Thibodeau, this team is very well prepared. They are in a position to win at a very high level. The front office did an incredible job. Thibodeau is an incredible coach and the players really responded to him.”
With Branson's absence, King averaged 17 points, 5.3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steel and one block last night, and hit 18/18 3-pointers to provide much needed defensive upgrades on the perimeter, making him the most impressed with Guard Miles McBride in his fourth year.
“Look at what McBride did in Branson,” King said. “That's all, someone is stepping up. That's the key.”
Every season, King makes multiple trips in the garden, sitting courtside, appreciating the adoration he still receives for his short, unforgettable run in the mid-80s.
He plans two more visits before the end of the regular season.
The playoffs are then positioned so that the Knicks are currently facing pistons in the first round, followed by a potential second round matchup with the Celtics.
It's the same path that King and Knicks continued during the 1984 electric postseason.
“You can't think about the end of the road,” King said. “Of course fans are going to think about the potential of the playoffs and championships, but you have to think about where you are. That's how I played, and you know that you can be one game in a day, every night, and you can be injured like Jalen Brunson.
“You have to be very focused to get to the results you want.”
