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Willis Reed, the heart and soul of the New York Knicks\u2019 most recent NBA championship team, and the man who gave New York City sports one of its most iconic moments, has died at the age of 80.<\/p>\n
Known simply as \u201cThe Captain\u201d years before Derek Jeter was born, Reed played 10 seasons in the NBA, all with the Knicks, for whom he also served as coach and general manager after his playing career ended in 1974. <\/p>\n
Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now ><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n He also coached and was an executive with the Nets when they played their games in New Jersey and was an executive with the New Orleans Hornets from 2004-07, The New York Post<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n The first member of the Knicks to have his number retired, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and was named among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history during the 1996-97 season.<\/p>\n It was during Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals that Reed carved his name in the hardwood history of Madison Square Garden and the league.<\/p>\n Injured late in Game 5 against the Lakers when he fell hard to the floor on a drive to the basket \u2014 a game the Knicks would manage to win without their leader who had scored 37, 29, 38 and 23 points in the series\u2019 first four games \u2014 Reed missed Game 6 in Los Angeles as the Lakers evened the series at three games each.<\/p>\n And when the series returned to the Garden for Game 7, no one \u2014 not even his teammates \u2014 was quite sure whether Reed, who had injured his right thigh in that fall a few days earlier would be able to play \u2014 even his teammates.<\/p>\n In fact, the Knicks hit the floor for pre-game warm-ups without him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe left the locker room \u2026 not knowing if Willis was going to come out or not,\u201d Bill Bradley, a forward on those championship teams, said years later.<\/p>\n Some 15 minutes later they had their emphatic answer. <\/p>\n The Garden erupted when Reed limped out of the tunnel \u2014 it would forever after be known as \u201cthe Willis Reed tunnel\u201d until it disappeared when the building was remodelled some 30 years later \u2014 and onto the court. <\/p>\n Reed\u2019s arrival drew the rapt attention of the Lakers as they warmed up. <\/p>\n Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, hearing the ear-splitting ovation, all turned their gaze toward the other end of the floor where Reed had joined his teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the whole Laker team standing around staring at this man,\u201d said Reed\u2019s teammate Walt Frazier, who would erupt for 38 points and 19 assists that night. <\/p>\n \u201cThey stopped doing what they were doing to look and see how Willis was. Something told me then man, they\u2019re very concerned. We may have these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Years later, Reed, who endured a pre-game cortisone injection, said he never doubted he would play.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was something we all wanted very badly,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was so close you could touch it. It\u2019s one game. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was what I dreamt of as a high school kid. It was what I worked so hard in college for.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only me, but everyone in that locker room. The coaches. Management.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me to not go out there to try and be a part of that, to try and give whatever I could \u2014 and I didn\u2019t know what it was \u2014 then I would be letting them down and letting myself down. <\/p>\n \u201cIf I tried and failed that\u2019s the way I wanted it.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be a guy who didn\u2019t come out and show he had the guts and grit to be there. \u2026 That was the moment to try.\u201d<\/p>\n The left-handed Reed, his thigh heavily wrapped, scored the game\u2019s first basket from the top of the key. <\/p>\n He would hit another 20-foot jumper the next time down the court and the Knicks, who would lead by as many as 29 points in the first half, were on their way to a 113-99 win and their first NBA title. <\/p>\n Reed wouldn\u2019t score another point. He wouldn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought the game was over at that point,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cOnce I made those two shots \u2026 if there was ever any doubt in our minds, there was no doubt. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t score any more points but from that point on Clyde and [Dave] DeBusschere and the rest of the guys took over.\u201d<\/p>\n Willis Reed Jr. was born June 25, 1942 in the tiny town of Hico, La. \u2014 \u201cThey don\u2019t even have a population,\u201d he once said \u2014 and grew up on a farm in nearby Bernice, La. <\/p>\n He attended Grambling State University where he led the Tigers to an NAIA title and three Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. <\/p>\n The Knicks, perennial losers in those days, selected him with the first pick of the second round in the 1964 NBA Draft \u2014 the eighth selection overall.<\/p>\n With Walt Bellamy at centre, the 6-foot-9 and 235-pound Reed played power forward for several seasons as the Knicks continued to lose. <\/p>\n When Red Holzman replaced Dick McGuire as coach during the 1967-68 season, the Knicks finished 43-39, their first winning season since 1958-59.<\/p>\n On December 19, 1968, the Knicks traded Bellamy and Howard Komives to the Pistons in exchange for power forward Dave DeBusschere. <\/p>\n That deal allowed Reed to move to centre.<\/p>\n \u201cSince that trade, I feel like a new person,\u201d Reed said at the time. <\/p>\n \u201cCenter is my position.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knicks, buoyed by a much-improved defence, would win 54 games and make the playoffs that season, setting the stage for their world championship the following year. <\/p>\n They would win the title again in 1972-73, besting the Lakers in five games. Reed was again named Finals MVP.<\/p>\n He appeared in seven All-Star games and averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his career, was named rookie of the year following the 1964-65 season \u2014 the first member of the Knicks to win that honour \u2014 and the league\u2019s MVP after that 1969-70 season.<\/p>\n He would play in just 19 games during the 1973-74 season and did not play at all the following season before officially retiring.<\/p>\n Reed replaced Holzman as coach in 1977, guiding an ageing team to a 43-39 record. He was replaced as coach 14 games into the next season.<\/p>\n Reed, who briefly served as an assistant coach at St. John\u2019s, was head coach at Creighton for four seasons in the early 1980s and was an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.<\/p>\n He took over as coach of a bad Nets team in late February 1988 and coached them through the following season when he joined the front office. In 1993, he was named the team\u2019s general manager.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a day goes by that someone doesn\u2019t remind me of that game,\u201d Reed said of that memorable night in 1970.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was our moment in time.\u201d<\/p>\n This article originally appeared in the New York Post<\/a> and was reproduced with permission. <\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n