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Willis Reed
Willis Reed Jr. (June 25, 1942 – March 21, 2023) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Reed was a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, including once on the first team in 1970, when he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was a two-time NBA champion (1970, 1973) and was voted the NBA Finals MVP both times. He is the only 2nd round NBA draft pick to have won the award twice. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
After retiring as a player, Reed served as assistant and head coach with several teams for nearly a decade, then was promoted to general manager and vice president of basketball operations (1989–1996) for the New Jersey Nets. He then became the team's senior vice president of basketball operations, holding the position when the team reached the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
Born on June 25, 1942, in Hico, Louisiana, Willis Reed Jr. was the only child of Willis Sr. and Inell Reed. Reed was born three weeks before his father joined the Army for the duration of World War II. His parents moved from his grandparents' farm to Bernice, Louisiana, where they worked to ensure Reed got an education in the segregated South.
Reed showed athletic ability at an early age and played basketball at all-black high schools; first Elliott High School in Bernice, where his family lived, and then nine miles away at the new West Side High School in Lillie, Louisiana, which had been built in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. He played under coach Lendon Smith, and led West Side to two state tournaments and a state championship. In his senior year, it is said that Reed once scored 58 points in a game playing barefoot, after his shoes were stolen.
Reed was All-State in football (as an end) and basketball, and he set a state record in the discus throw. He was recruited by colleges, such as Loyola of Chicago, Nebraska and Wisconsin, for basketball. Reed attended Grambling State University, a historically black college, playing under coach Fred Hobdy. He became a starter as a freshman, the team won the NAIA tournament, and he was named to the all-tournament team as a freshman.
Playing for the Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team, Reed scored 2,280 career points, averaging 26.6 points per game and 21.3 rebounds per game during his senior year. He led the Tigers to one NAIA title and three Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships, and a 108–17 record. He averaged 22 points per game in 12 NAIA tournament games. Reed also was a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. He was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 1994.
Among his basketball teammates were future Pro Football Hall of Fame player Buck Buchanan, and future AFL player Ernie Ladd.
The New York Knicks selected Reed with the first pick in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft. Reed quickly made a name for himself as a fierce, dominating, and physical force on both ends of the floor as a center. In March 1965, he scored 46 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, the second-most points in a game ever by the Knicks' rookie. For the 1964–65 season, he was seventh-ranked in the NBA in scoring (19.5 points per game) and fifth-ranked in rebounding (14.7 rebounds per game). He also began one of his multiple All-Star appearances and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, while also being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
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Willis Reed
Willis Reed Jr. (June 25, 1942 – March 21, 2023) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Reed was a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, including once on the first team in 1970, when he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was a two-time NBA champion (1970, 1973) and was voted the NBA Finals MVP both times. He is the only 2nd round NBA draft pick to have won the award twice. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
After retiring as a player, Reed served as assistant and head coach with several teams for nearly a decade, then was promoted to general manager and vice president of basketball operations (1989–1996) for the New Jersey Nets. He then became the team's senior vice president of basketball operations, holding the position when the team reached the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
Born on June 25, 1942, in Hico, Louisiana, Willis Reed Jr. was the only child of Willis Sr. and Inell Reed. Reed was born three weeks before his father joined the Army for the duration of World War II. His parents moved from his grandparents' farm to Bernice, Louisiana, where they worked to ensure Reed got an education in the segregated South.
Reed showed athletic ability at an early age and played basketball at all-black high schools; first Elliott High School in Bernice, where his family lived, and then nine miles away at the new West Side High School in Lillie, Louisiana, which had been built in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. He played under coach Lendon Smith, and led West Side to two state tournaments and a state championship. In his senior year, it is said that Reed once scored 58 points in a game playing barefoot, after his shoes were stolen.
Reed was All-State in football (as an end) and basketball, and he set a state record in the discus throw. He was recruited by colleges, such as Loyola of Chicago, Nebraska and Wisconsin, for basketball. Reed attended Grambling State University, a historically black college, playing under coach Fred Hobdy. He became a starter as a freshman, the team won the NAIA tournament, and he was named to the all-tournament team as a freshman.
Playing for the Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team, Reed scored 2,280 career points, averaging 26.6 points per game and 21.3 rebounds per game during his senior year. He led the Tigers to one NAIA title and three Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships, and a 108–17 record. He averaged 22 points per game in 12 NAIA tournament games. Reed also was a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. He was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 1994.
Among his basketball teammates were future Pro Football Hall of Fame player Buck Buchanan, and future AFL player Ernie Ladd.
The New York Knicks selected Reed with the first pick in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft. Reed quickly made a name for himself as a fierce, dominating, and physical force on both ends of the floor as a center. In March 1965, he scored 46 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, the second-most points in a game ever by the Knicks' rookie. For the 1964–65 season, he was seventh-ranked in the NBA in scoring (19.5 points per game) and fifth-ranked in rebounding (14.7 rebounds per game). He also began one of his multiple All-Star appearances and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, while also being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
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