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. As senior vice president of basketball operations, he helped to lead them to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
Early life
Born on June 25, 1942, in Hico, Louisiana, Willis Reed Jr. was the only child of Willis Sr. and Inell Reed.[1][2] His parents moved from his grandparents' farm to Bernice, Louisiana, where they worked to ensure Reed got an education in the segregated South.[1] Reed showed athletic ability at an early age and played basketball at West Side High School in Lillie, Louisiana.[3]
The New York Knicks selected Reed with the first pick in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft.[2] 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,[5] while also being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.[6]
For a few years, the Knicks struggled while adding valuable players through trades and drafts. Midway through the 1967–68 season, Dick McGuire was replaced as coach with Red Holzman. The Knicks had accumulated a 15–22 record under McGuire but then in the part of the season that Holzman led them achieved a 28–17 record, for a 43–39 season, its first winning record since the 1958–59 season.[7]
Reed continued to be selected annually for the NBA All-Star Game. By that time he was playing as a power forward to open up the center position for Walt Bellamy.[8] Reed averaged 11.6 rebounds in 1965–66 and 14.6 in 1966–67, both ranked top 10-best in the league. He averaged 20.9 points in the latter season.[9]
In 1968–69, the Knicks had traded Bellamy and Howard Komives to the Detroit Pistons for Dave DeBusschere, allowing the Knicks to move Reed back to center.[8] New York's defense surrendered a league-low 105.2 points per game. For five of the next six seasons, the Knicks were the best defensive team in the league, with Reed in the middle and additional defensive efforts by Walt Frazier.[8] Reed scored 21.1 points per game in 1968–69 and grabbed a franchise-record 1,191 rebounds, with an average of 14.5 rebounds per game.[9]
Reed's most famous performance happened on May 8, 1970, in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in Madison Square Garden.[10] Due to a severe thigh injury, a torn muscle that had previously kept him out of game six, he was considered unlikely to play in game seven. However Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause. Starting the game, he scored the Knicks' first two field goals on his first two shot attempts, his only points of the game.[8] Reed played 27 minutes, finishing with four points and three rebounds.[11] After the game in the winner's locker room, a moved Howard Cosell told Reed on national television, "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer."[12]
The Knicks slipped to a 52–30 record in the 1970–71 season; despite this, the Knicks took first place in the Atlantic Division. In the middle of the season against the Cincinnati Royals, Reed tied Harry Gallatin's all-time team record of 33 rebounds. He started again in that season's All-Star Game. His season average was 20.9 points and 13.7 rebounds per game, but the Knicks were knocked out by the Baltimore Bullets in the Eastern Conference Finals.[13] During the 1971–72 season, Reed had problems with tendonitis in his left knee, which limited his mobility.[14] After a two-week hiatus, he returned to the court, only to have the injured knee prevent him from playing shortly thereafter; in total, he played 11 games for the season. Without Reed, the Knicks still managed to make the NBA Finals, but were defeated in five games by the Los Angeles Lakers.[15]
The 1972–73 Knicks' season concluded with a 57–25 record, and they proceeded to win another NBA championship.[16] Averaging only 11.0 points in 69 regular season games, Reed's contribution was a far cry from his record two seasons prior. In the playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Bullets and upset the Boston Celtics, and again faced the Lakers in the NBA Finals. After losing the first game, the Knicks won four straight, securing their second NBA championship with a 102–93 victory in game five, as Reed scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and recorded seven assists in the deciding victory.[17] After the win, Reed was named NBA Finals MVP.[18]
Reed's career was cut short by injuries, and he retired after the 1973–74 season.[19] For his career Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, playing 650 games. He played in seven All-Star Games.[20]
Coaching career
Reed spent several years coaching before moving into general management.
New York Knicks (1977–1978)
He coached the Knicks in 1977–1978, and left the team 14 games into the following season (49–47 record).
Reed served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks from 1985 to 1987.[13]
Sacramento Kings (1987–1988)
Reed served as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings from 1987 to 1988.
New Jersey Nets (1988–1989)
Reed debuted as head coach of the New Jersey Nets on March 1, 1988, one week after the Nets' star forward (and Reed's cousin) Orlando Woolridge was suspended by the league and was to undergo drug rehabilitation.[21] He compiled a 33–77 record with the Nets.
Executive career
New Jersey Nets (1989–2004)
In 1989, he stepped down as coach and became the Nets' vice president of basketball and business development.[22] He was given the responsibility for personnel in 1993, receiving a three-year contract extension and gaining general manager duties.[23] During that time, he drafted Kenny Anderson and Derrick Coleman,[8] acquired Dražen Petrović, and made the Nets a playoff contender throughout the early 1990s. Chuck Daly was hired by Reed to coach the Nets for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons.[8] In 1996, Reed was promoted to senior vice president of basketball operations, while continuing his goal of turning the Nets into championship contenders.[8] They made the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.[1]
New Orleans Hornets (2004–2007)
Reed then became the vice president of basketball operations with the New Orleans Hornets in 2004.[24] He retired in 2007.[25]
Legacy
In 1970, Reed was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame[26]
Reed and his first wife, Geraldine Oliver, married when both were still attending Grambling State University. They had two children, Karl Vance and Veronica Marie, and the marriage ended in divorce.[2] He then married Gale Kennedy, a nurse, in 1983. The wedding was held in Roslyn Heights, New York.[34]
Reed died from heart failure in Houston, Texas, on March 21, 2023, at age 80.[1][35]
^ abcWillis Reed Jr. (March 10, 1977). "Pride Is His Spur". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
^ ab"NBA Bio: Willis Reed". National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^"Willis Reed". Blue Phi. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^NBA Register: 1986–87 Edition. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. p. 344. ISBN9780892042272.
^Rogers, Thomas (February 21, 1982). "Reed Named to Hall of Fame". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
^"NBA at 50: Top 50 Players". National Basketball Association. October 29, 1996. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
Smalls, F. Romall; Jackson, Kenneth T. (2002). "Willis Reed". Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: Sports Figures, Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons/Gale Group. pp. 259–260.
Further reading
Heisler, Mark (2003). Giants: The 25 Greatest Centers of All Time. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN1-57243-577-1.