{"id":21314,"date":"2023-03-22T00:21:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T00:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/22\/willis-reed-death-2x-nba-champion-and-new-york-knicks-hall-of-famer-passes-away-at-the-age-of-80\/"},"modified":"2023-03-22T00:21:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T00:21:52","slug":"willis-reed-death-2x-nba-champion-and-new-york-knicks-hall-of-famer-passes-away-at-the-age-of-80","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/22\/willis-reed-death-2x-nba-champion-and-new-york-knicks-hall-of-famer-passes-away-at-the-age-of-80\/","title":{"rendered":"Willis Reed Death: 2x NBA champion and New York Knicks Hall of Famer passes away at the age of 80"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"3896054\" data-slug-id=\"1441674\">\n<p>Willis Reed, a basketball Hall of Famer and New York Knicks legend, died Tuesday at the age of 80. Reed spent his entire career with the Knicks, winning two championships and one MVP award.<\/p>\n<p>The basketball legend was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary team. Besides his playing career, Reed served as both assistant and head coach for several teams.<\/p>\n<p>He is one of the most decorated players to ever play the game of basketball. With five All-NBA selections, two Finals MVP awards and impressive stats, the 6-foot-10 big man had a career for the ages.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"bets-today-poll\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"preview-card-holder bets-today-poll\">\n<p><span class=\"date\"\/> \u2022 <span class=\"time\"\/><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Willis Reed spent 10 years in the NBA<\/h2>\n<p>Willis Reed was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1964. He had a dominant season in his rookie campaign, averaging 19.5 points per game on 43.2% shooting. Reed was also one of the best rebounders in the league with 14.7 per game.<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks legend was so good that he was named an All-Star in each of his first seven seasons. In 1970, the big man won his first championship as the Knicks defeated the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/los-angeles-&lt;a%20href=\" https:=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">LA Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/embed\">\n<div class=\"yt-wrapper\"> <noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Willis Reed Career Highlights - LEGEND!\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nnkEudW3q8E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript> <\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube\" data-embed=\"nnkEudW3q8E\">\n<div class=\"play-button\"><img height=\"370\" width=\"660\" data-img=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/nnkEudW3q8E\/sddefault.jpg\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/nnkEudW3q8E\/sddefault.jpg\" class=\"lazy-img\" alt=\"youtube-cover\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Despite playing against several Hall of Famers, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/wilt-chamberlain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Wilt Chamberlain<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/jerry-west\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Jerry West<\/a>, Reed put on a fantastic show and led his team to a the promised land after seven games.<\/p>\n<p><em>You may be interested in reading: <\/em><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/ranking-top-5-players-new-york-knicks-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Ranking the top 5 players in New York Knicks&#8217; history<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reed averaged 23.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg. He missed Game 6, but returned to the final game of the series despite dealing with a thigh injury. The big man scored the first points for the Knicks and received a lot of praise for this performance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/embed\">\n<div class=\"yt-wrapper\"> <noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Willis Reeds Game 7 Comeback\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h3iLEYHvex4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript> <\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube\" data-embed=\"h3iLEYHvex4\">\n<div class=\"play-button\"><img height=\"370\" width=\"660\" data-img=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/h3iLEYHvex4\/sddefault.jpg\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/h3iLEYHvex4\/sddefault.jpg\" class=\"lazy-img\" alt=\"youtube-cover\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Willis Reed played with a lot of heart and soul, which was on full display in the 1970 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks made the finals again in 1972, but lost because Reed was out with an injury. However, they returned to the finals a year later for another matchup with the Lakers and won it all once again.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Reed was also a basketball coach and executive<\/h2>\n<p>Besides his astonishing career as a player, the basketball legend also tried his hand at coaching. Unsurprisingly, the first team that he coached was the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n<p>Reed also served as assistant coach for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/atlanta-hawks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Atlanta Hawks<\/a> and Sacramento Kings, and he coached the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/new-jersey-nets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">New Jersey Nets<\/a> for one season as well.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sk-app-thumbnail\" alt=\"Willis Reed was named one of the best 75 players in NBA history. (Image via Getty Images)\" src=\"https:\/\/staticc.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2023\/03\/6fe13-16794259755814-1920.jpg\"\/><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-img\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" data-img=\"https:\/\/staticc.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2023\/03\/6fe13-16794259755814-1920.jpg\" alt=\"Willis Reed was named one of the best 75 players in NBA history. (Image via Getty Images)\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/staticc.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2023\/03\/6fe13-16794259755814-1920.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,&lt;svg%20xmlns=%22http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%201920%201280%22&gt;&lt;\/svg&gt;\"\/><figcaption>Willis Reed was named one of the best 75 players in NBA history. (Image via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Besides his NBA coaching career, Reed also served as the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays from 1981 to 1985.<\/p>\n<p><em>You may be interested in reading: <\/em><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/10-most-dynamic-duos-in-nba-history\/15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">25 Most Dynamic Duos in NBA History<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He was eventually hired as the Nets&#8217; general manager and vice president of basketball operations for six seasons. While performing in this position, Reed made the Nets a playoff contender and drafted several great players, including Derrick Coleman and Drazen Petrovic.<\/p>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><template id=\"reply-input-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"reply-section-container\" parent-comment-id=\"\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"pic-near-reply-box\" src=\"\" alt=\"Profile picture\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><br \/>\n<template id=\"gif-box-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script> \nvar fbPixelFired = false;\ndocument.addEventListener(\"scroll\", function() { loadFBPixel() });\ndocument.addEventListener(\"mousemove\", function() { loadFBPixel() });\nfunction loadFBPixel() {\nif(fbPixelFired) {\nreturn;\n}\nfbPixelFired = true;\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? \nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\nn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, \ndocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '952063904834769'); \nfbq('track', \"PageView\");\nfbq('track', 'ViewContent');\n}\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/news-willis-reed-death-2x-nba-champion-new-york-knicks-hall-famer-passes-away-age-80?utm_source=feed&#038;utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_campaign=sportskeeda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Willis Reed, a basketball Hall of Famer and New York Knicks legend, died Tuesday at the age of 80. Reed spent his entire career with the Knicks, winning two championships and one MVP award. The basketball legend was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary team. Besides his playing career, Reed served as both assistant and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}