Born in Christ Church, Barbados, King played as an all-rounder, but had more success with the bat than ball, especially in Test cricket, where he scored one century and two fifties but only took three wickets – in three different innings. In ODI cricket, his highest – and swiftest – score came in the 1979 World Cup final, when he came in at 99 for 4 to hit 86 off 66 deliveries, and added 149 with Viv Richards. King also held a catch and bowled three overs for 13 runs in the match, and the West Indies won by 92 runs.