Willis Reed, a legendary center who played all 10 seasons of his career with the New York Knicks, passed away on March 21, 2023. Reed was 80 years old. Basketball columnist Peter Vecey announced his passing via Twitter, stating, "He has suffered from congestive heart problems over the past year or so, and was going through rehab to walk."
Willis Reed was born on June 25, 1942, in Dubach, Lousiana. He played high school ball at West Side High School in Lillie, LA. Reed, a 6 foot 10 inches center coming out of Grambling State, was drafted to the Knicks with the eighth overall pick in the 1964 NBA Draft. Reed was a star in his rookie season, being selected to an All-Star game as well as winning the 1965 Rookie of the Year award. Reed averaged an excellent 19.5 PPG and 14.7 RPG in this rookie season.
With Reed at center, the Knicks became a powerhouse in the late 1960s, and into the early 1970s. Reed would appear in seven consecutive All-Star games from 1965 to 1971. He'd also be selected to the All-NBA Second Team four times (1967-69, 1971), and one All-NBA First Team in 1970. This 1970 campaign led to a Most Valuable Player award, averaging an unstoppable 21.7 PPG and 13.9 RPG. Reed led the 1970 Knicks to a 60-22 record, the best in the league. Alongside Reed were future Hall of Famers: guard Walt Frazier and forward Dave DeBusschere, two fantastic players in their own right.
Reed's MVP play led the Knicks to the 1970 NBA Finals in a tight series against the Los Angeles Lakers, who featured three of the greatest players ever in center Wilt Chamberlain, forward Elgin Baylor, and guard Jerry West. Reed had injured his thigh in Game 5, with the series tied 2-2, but the Knicks still were able to win and hold a 3-2 lead. The Lakers would tie the series up in Game 6 against a Reed-less Knicks squad, forcing a Game 7.
On May 8, 1970, the night of Game 7 in the Knicks' home court Madison Square Garden, Reed's thigh injury was expected to have kept the MVP out. During warmups before the game, Reed stunned the Knicks, Lakers, and the crowd, by joining his team and the Knicks intending to play him. “I’ll never forget [Jerry] West, Chamberlain, [Elgin] Baylor, three of the greatest players of all time, they stopped doing what they were doing and just started staring at Willis,” Walt Frazier told The Athletic. “I said to myself, ‘Man, we’ve got these guys.’ That gave me so much confidence. They were so concerned Willis was going to play.” Reed would play limited minutes in the game but scored the first two baskets, his only points in the game. The iconic moment, as well as his great performances in the first four games of the series, earned him the Finals MVP as Reed's resiliency led the Knicks to a 114-99 win. The Knicks won their first NBA championship under Reed's leadership.
Watch a 4-minute documentary on Reed's comeback here, in a video made by MSG Networks.
The 1970 season was pure dominance by Reed. Yahoo! Sports reports that "he became the first player ever to sweep the All-Star Game MVP, regular season MVP, and Finals MVP awards in a single season. Only Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998 and Shaquille O'Neal in 2000 have matched Reed's accomplishment."
Reed's career continued to be coated in gold, as he would return to the NBA Finals in 1972 in a rematch against the Lakers. The Knicks lost in 1972, but another Knicks-Lakers series in 1973 would result in Reed's second title and second Finals MVP award. The following season, Reed would only play 19 games due to knee surgery. After the 1974 season, Reed "declined another operation on his knee at age 32 and never played another NBA game," as reported by Yahoo! Sports. "The Knicks made his No. 19 their first retired jersey in Madison Square Garden in 1976."
After retiring, Reed coached the Knicks through the late 1970s, before accepting a job as the head coach of Creighton University's men's team in 1981. He would coach the Bluejays until 1984 until he became an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings from 1985 to 1988. Reed then became the New Jersey Nets' head coach from 1988 to 1989, before being hired as the Nets' general manager and vice president of basketball operations. He was then promoted to senior vice president of basketball operations for the Nets in 1996, being in the position during the Nets' 2002 and 2003 NBA Finals appearances. After a short stint in the same position for the New Orleans Hornets, Reed retired in 2007.
Reed's fantastic player career was honored in 1982, being selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Reed was also "named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams," ESPN states. Reed's career averages were 18.7 PPG and 12.9 RPG.
Reed was remembered for his great spirit, which wasn't only shown by his resiliency on the court. He made sure he gave back to the fans, as well. "What I remember about Willis is he would always carry a blue Sharpie with him wherever he went, and he'd always have a stack of pictures with him from when he played for the Knicks," said ESPN's Bobby Marks, a former coworker of Reed's in the Nets organization. "And he'd go out of his way, whether it was those pictures or a basketball, he would never turn anyone down. It's a lasting remembrance I always think about, giving back to people who are less fortunate."
"Willis Reed was the ultimate team player and consummate leader. My earliest and fondest memories of NBA basketball are of watching Willis, who embodied the winning spirit that defined the New York Knicks' championship teams in the early 1970s," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, as reported by ESPN. "He played the game with remarkable passion and determination, and his inspiring comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals remains one of the most iconic moments in all of sports."
The Knicks posted a special Twitter message in regard to the news of Reed's passing, thanking "the Captain" for all of his hard work as a player and leader in New York.
YOOOOOOOOO CALVIN THIS SHIT HEAT TURN ME UP