It was in 1982 though which was considered as King's best year with Toyota. The same year when Jaworski was riding the bench because of an assortment of injuries (the Big J was already 36 by then), it was the quartet of Fernandez, Arnaiz, 1979 ROY Arnie Tuadles and King who starred in Toyota's two championships that season – the same year when Fernandez finally nailed his first of four MVP plums with King being named to the season's Mythical Five. What made King's accomplishments impressive was he did this on the other side of the game – his defense. While every player was getting recognition for their offense, King did so on defense – a skill further enhanced by his coach Edgardo Ocampo – acknowledged as the 1960s best two-way player. King was the nemesis not only of the best local players around, he also took it upon himself to defend against the best imports. Norman Black, Lew Massey, Lew Brown, Clarence Kea, among others, were surprised at how a bulky local player can actually hold his own against them. Black intimated once in an interview that King was "the best local defender who ever guarded him." Alvin Patrimonio, during his peak, halcyon days of the early 1990s, badly wanted an aging King to be part of Purefoods simply because he feared having King on the other side of the court defending him. Finally, a PBA player was recognized for his ability to defend players and King became the yardstick of what defenders should be in the coming years.