The Captain is dead. No, not Derek Jeter. Not Scott Stevens. Not Denis Potvin. Not Mark Messier. Not Harry Carson. The most important Captain in the history of New York Tri-State Area sports.
Willis Reed Jr. (no middle name) was born on June 25, 1942 in Hico, Louisiana, and grew up in nearby Bernice. He played basketball at the nearby historically black Grambling State University, which is better known for its football program. He led them to 3 Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship and an NAIA Championship. He was also a member of the U.S. team that won the Gold Medal at the 1963 Pan American Games, although he turned professional before the 1964 Olympics, and was the ineligible to participate under the rules of the time.
The New York Knicks drafted him in 1964, and in the 1964-65 season, he was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year, and was named to the 1st of 7 straight NBA All-Star Games. He had been a center in college, but the Knicks already had All-Star Walt Bellamy, so Reed was moved to forward.
The Knicks had struggled since the mid-1950s, but changes were being made. Head coach Dick McGuire was "kicked upstairs" to become chief scout, and William "Red" Holzman was brought in. In 1968, a few months after moving from the old Madison Square Garden to the new one, general manager Eddie Donovan traded Bellamy and Howie Komives to the Detroit Pistons for Dave DeBusschere.
This remains by far the greatest trade in the history of New York City basketball. Not only did this allow Reed to be moved back to his natural position, but, between Reed, DeBusschere, forward Bill Bradley, and guards Walt Frazier and Dick Barnett, the Knicks had developed the best defense in the NBA. And they could all play well on offense, too.
Reed was 6-foot-9, the same height as Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics legend who retired in 1969. But with Russell out of the way, Reed still had to face such centers as Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers, Nate Thurmond of the San Francisco Warriors, Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets, and, starting that season, Lew Alcindor (soon to rename himself Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) of the Milwaukee Bucks. He also had to oppose what would now be called power forwards in Elgin Baylor of the Lakers, John Havlicek of the Celtics, Jerry Lucas of the Cincinnati Royals and Elvin Hayes of the San Diego Rockets. You name the great big man of the era, and Reed, by this point named Captain of the Knicks, was the man assigned to stop him. In 1968-69, he grabbed 1,191 rebounds, still a franchise record.
In 1969-70, the Knicks won 60 games, then a team record, including an 18-game winning streak, an NBA record that lasted only 2 years. Reed was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA's regular season and its All-Star Game, and to the league's First Team and All-Defensive First Team.
The Knicks faced the Baltimore Bullets in the 1st round of the Playoffs. Hayes wouldn't join the Bullets until 1972, but they still had Unseld and guard Earl "the Pearl" Monroe, along with Frazier 1 of the 3 best guards in the game at that point. The Bullets extended them to 7 games, but the Knicks won. In the Eastern Division Finals, the Knicks beat the Bucks of Alcindor and the veteran genius Oscar Robertson in 5 games, to reach the NBA Finals for the 1st time in 17 years.
But they would have to face the Lakers, who had Chamberlain, Baylor, and the other of the 3 best guards, Jerry West. The 1st 2 games were in New York, and while the Knicks won Game 1, the Lakers won Game 2. The next 2 games were in Inglewood, and went to overtime: The Knicks won Game 3, the Lakers won Game 4.
The Knicks won Game 5 in New York, but Reed got hurt. Without Reed to guard Chamberlain, the Lakers easily won Game 6 at home, 135-113. The 1st 5 games, with both Willis and Wilt available, were decided by a total of 30 points. Game 6, with Wilt overwhelming DeBusschere and backup center Nate Bowman for 45 points and 27 rebounds, was a 25-point Laker win.
Game 7 would be played at Madison Square Garden on May 8, 1970. There were 19,500 paying customers at The Garden that Friday night. Among them, Woody Allen was sitting courtside. Also from Brooklyn, but sitting up at the very top, in what were then known as the Blue Seats, was 13-year-old Shelton "Spike" Lee, who would also later become a renowned film director, and would also eventually be sitting courtside. And the one thing on the minds of Woody, Spike, and everybody in between was, "Will Willis play?" At what could have been their moment of greatest triumph, Knick fans were at their moment of greatest despair.
On radio station WHN, 1050 AM (now WEPN, the flagship of ESPN Radio), Marv Albert asked, "The big question is, 'Will Willis Reed play tonight?'" Shortly, he got his answer, "And here comes Willis! The crowd is going wild!"
Reed limped out onto the court for warmups, and hit a few shots. The Lakers stopped and watched. It was over: He was in their heads. They were already beaten.
When the game began, Willis dragged his bad leg around the court, took the Knicks' 1st 2 shots, and made them both. It was effectively over. Willis played only 27 of the 48 minutes. That was more than enough.
Everyone remembers it as The Willis Reed Game. But Frazier had his best game: 36 points to lead all players, 19 assists to lead all players, 7 rebounds. Barnett had 21 points. DeBusschere had 18 points and 17 rebounds. Bradley had 17, Nate Bowman 6, Mike Riordan 5, Dave Stallworth 4, Cazzie Russell 2.
Despite 28 points from West, 21 points and 24 rebounds from Chamberlain, and 19 points from Baylor, the Knicks won 113-99, and were World Champions for the 1st time. It became a particular point of pride for the Knicks that they held the Lakers to under 100 points in that Game 7.
Nationally, the game was broadcast on ABC -- but only on tape delay. The only people who saw it live were inside The Garden. In the locker room afterward, Howard Cosell told Reed, "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer." Bradley said, “It was the best example of inspiration by an individual in a sporting event I’ve ever seen.”
Cosell (before his infamous toupee, but dripping with champagne),
Reed and Holzman
The Knicks finally had their title, and this game has only grown in New York sports legend. It's one of those games where a person who doesn't remember it must think that the venue must have held a million people, because that's how many people have said they were there that day.
In 1997, NBC had a promo for their sitcom Mad About You, with the following exchange:
Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt): "What was the most amazing moment of your life?"
Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser): "Okay, you ready? 1970, NBA Finals, Game 7, Willis Reed limps onto the court, scores 4 points, Knicks win. I was there."
Jamie: "For me, it was our wedding."
In 2006, as part of the league's 60th Anniversary celebrations, the NBA took an online poll to determine "The NBA's 60 Greatest Playoff Moments." Willis Reed taking the court on May 8, 1970 came in 3rd, behind Michael Jordan's last shot to clinch the 1998 title for the Chicago Bulls, and Magic Johnson switching to center for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win the 1980 title for the Lakers.
The moment is still there. Willis limping up the court is up there with the fans storming the field at Shea 7 months earlier, and Joe Namath waving that "We're Number 1" finger 14 months earlier. There have been huge moments since: The Yankees and Mets having many, the Giants having their Super Bowl wins, the Islanders winning 4 Stanley Cups, the Devils 3, and the Rangers the 1 that "will last a lifetime!"
But the Knicks have won just 1 title since, and that 1972-73 title just didn't have a signature moment that everybody remembers. Ask the average Knick fan how many games the '73 Finals took, or if the title was clinched at home or on the road, or who the leading scorer was in the clincher, and they might not even know. (It was Game 5, at The Forum, and Earl Monroe, obtained from Baltimore early in the 1971-72 season, scored 23. It was May 10, and the Knicks won 102-93.)
The Knicks lost the 1971 Eastern Conference Finals to the Baltimore Bullets; got to the NBA Finals again in 1972, after trading for Monroe and Jerry Lucas, but lost to the Lakers; then beat the Lakers for the title in 1973. But Reed, DeBusschere and Lucas all retired after the 1974 season, and that was it for that generation of Knicks.
They didn't get back to the Finals until 1994, losing to the Houston Rockets in 7 games. They made it back in 1999, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 5. They got back to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000, losing to the Indiana Pacers. Since then, in 19 completed seasons, they have won a grand total of 9 Playoff games, and just 1 Playoff series, the last of each coming in 2013.
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For his career, Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. In 1977, he was named to replace Holzman as head coach, and led them into the Playoffs in 1978. But he was fired early in the 1978-79 season. He was head coach at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska from 1981 to 1985, an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks from 1985 to 1987, and an assistant with the Sacramento Kings in 1987-88.
He nearly became a legend with the New York Tri-State Area's other NBA team. He was head coach of the New Jersey Nets in 1988-89, and their general manager of the Nets from 1989 to 1996. He built a team by drafting Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson; trading for Dražen Petrović and Jayson Williams; signing veteran stars Bernard King, Maurice Cheeks and Rick Mahorn as free agents; and hiring 2-time title-winning head coach Chuck Daly.
However, in 1993, a clothesline from the Knicks' John Starks led to Anderson falling on his wrist and breaking it, and he was never the same. Petrović was killed in a car crash in the off-season, and wasn't available the next season. Both seasons, the Nets lost in the 1st round. After that, they collapsed.
But Reed rebuilt, putting together a team with Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Eddie Griffin and Jason Collins. They made the NBA Finals in 2002 and '03, the franchise's only Finals berth since joining the NBA in 1976. From 2004 to 2007, Reed served as vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelicans), in his home State.
In 1976, he became the 1st Knick to have his uniform number retired, 19. In 1982, he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players in 1996, and to its 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players in 2021.
Reed married his 1st wife, Geraldine, while they were both at Grambling State. They had a son, Karl, who died in 2017; and a daughter, Veronica. His 2nd wife, Gale Kennedy, was a nurse.
Willis Reed died today, March 21, 2023, of heart failure, at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. He was 80 years old.
Walt Frazier: "Willis Reed embodied what it meant to be a New York Knick."
Mike Greenberg, ESPN: "There have been greater players than Willis Reed. There has never been a greater leader. Rest in peace, Captain. Fans of the #Knicks will love you until the end of time."
Bill Simmons, alleged basketball expert: "Of all the legendary playing-in-pain performances, Willis Reed had the only one that swung the deciding game of the entire season. Top that, Dave Cowens."
Otis Livingston, sports anchor at WCBS-Channel 2 in New York: "A true sports icon who was an even better man off the court."
No argument.