Bernard King vs. Earl Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Earl Tatum 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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, 10 more than Earl Tatum, who played 4. Bernard King had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while Earl Tatum had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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 achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Bernard King 14 5 1977-78 to 1992-93
Earl Tatum 4 1 1976-77 to 1979-80

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14

Rookie Season

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1977-781976-77
Team New Jersey NetsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayLakers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
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
Earl Tatum 68 18.4 9.4 1.2 2.3 3.5 1.7 1.3 0.3 - 2.5 4.2 8.9 .466 - - - 1.1 1.5 .720
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum 11 32.4 13.6 1.5 3.5 4.9 2.5 1.4 0.8 - 3.1 6.1 12.2 .500 - - - 1.5 2.2 .667

Season 2

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1978-791977-78
Team New Jersey NetsLos Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nets Lost East Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 82 34.9 21.6 3.1 5.1 8.2 3.6 1.4 0.5 3.9 4.0 8.7 16.6 .522 - - - 4.3 7.5 .564
Earl Tatum 82 30.8 14.3 1.0 2.6 3.6 3.6 1.7 0.5 2.2 3.1 6.2 13.3 .469 - - - 1.9 2.4 .781
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 2 40.5 26.0 2.5 3.0 5.5 3.5 2.0 0.0 3.0 5.0 10.5 21.0 .500 - - - 5.0 12.0 .417
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1979-801978-79
Team Utah JazzBoston Celtics, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
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
Earl Tatum 79 15.6 7.7 0.5 1.1 1.6 0.9 1.0 0.4 1.1 2.1 3.5 7.9 .447 - - - 0.7 0.9 .732
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1980-811979-80
Team Golden State WarriorsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
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
Earl Tatum 33 6.8 2.6 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.9 1.1 2.8 .383 0.1 0.2 .333 0.3 0.6 .579
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1981-82-
Team Golden State Warriors-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1982-83-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf Semis-
more >>
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1983-84-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf Semis-
more >>
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1984-85-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

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

Season 9

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1986-87-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1987-88-
Team Washington Bullets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
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
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1988-89-
Team Washington Bullets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 81 31.6 20.7 1.6 3.1 4.7 3.6 0.8 0.2 2.8 2.7 8.1 16.9 .477 0.1 0.4 .167 4.5 5.4 .819
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1989-90-
Team Washington Bullets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 82 32.8 22.4 1.6 3.4 4.9 4.6 0.6 0.1 3.0 2.8 8.7 17.8 .487 0.0 0.3 .130 5.0 6.3 .803
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Season 13

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1990-91-
Team Washington Bullets-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 64 37.5 28.4 1.8 3.2 5.0 4.6 0.9 0.3 4.0 2.9 11.1 23.6 .472 0.1 0.6 .216 6.0 7.6 .790
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King ------- --- ----------
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------

Note: Bernard King didn't play in 1991-92.

Season 14

Bernard King Earl Tatum
Season 1992-93-
Team New Jersey Nets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 32 13.4 7.0 1.1 1.3 2.4 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.7 1.7 2.8 5.5 .514 0.1 0.2 .286 1.2 1.8 .684
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bernard King 3 8.0 2.7 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 1.0 1.3 2.3 .571 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Earl Tatum ------- --- ----------