Professional Career
King was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the second round (35th overall) of the 1995 NBA Draft and played 62 games for them during the 1995–96 season, averaging 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. On July 24, 1996, before the start of the 1996–97 season, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Ronald "Popeye" Jones, but King was eventually waived. After playing most of the 1996-97 season with the Quad City Thunder of the CBA, he signed with the Denver Nuggets on a 10-day contract, but participated in only two games for them, tallying six points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals.
King also played a few seasons in Europe and with the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) where he was the 1998 MVP with the Quad City Thunder. He played for the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal. He also played for the Asheville Altitude in the NBDL.
King's last chance to return to the NBA came before the 2000–01 NBA season where King was the final player cut on the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers.
In a phone interview on the Jim Rome Show on November 30, 2006, Jimmy stated he was working as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch on Wall Street. During the 2008–09 Michigan Wolverines season King served as a radio color commentator.
Currently, King is the Program Director of H.Y.P.E. Athletics Community, a nonprofit organization which provides academic, athletic, and citizenship mentoring for youth in the Detroit area, and President of J King Solar Technologies.
The March 13, 2011 airing of the ESPN films 30 for 30 documentary The Fab Five sparked national outrage that led to a series of media exchanges between members of the press, Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players, including King, and Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players in forums such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
On August 8, 2011, (King's 38th birthday) King was detained by police for failure to pay $17,000 in back child support for his 17-year-old son. He was incarcerated at Michigan's Oakland County Jail along with Jalen Rose, who was serving time for a DUI arrest. On January 27, 2012, the case against King was dismissed after he paid the $17,000 in full.
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