Willis Reed, the longtime New York Knicks forward widely considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time, passed away on Tuesday. He was 80.
“Just received word that Willis Reed, 80, passed this morning,” longtime sports columnist Peter Vecsey wrote on Tuesday.
“He has suffered from congestive heart problems over the past year or so, and was going through rehab to walk. Loved everything about Willis! A man’s man!!”
A second-round pick in the 1964 NBA Draft, Reed “quickly made a name as a fierce, dominating and physical force on both ends of the floor.”
May 8, 1970: An injured Willis Reed comes out of the tunnel and leads the Knicks to their first championship in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
RIP, Willis pic.twitter.com/vnvQ1TGPou
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) March 21, 2023
Reed spent his entire professional playing career with the Knicks, from 1964 to 1974, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. He was the first player to be named MVP, Finals MVP and All-Star Game MVP in the same season, according to BNO News.
“Willis Reed embodied what it meant to be a New York Knick, and will forever be remembered for his heroics in the Knicks only 2 NBA championships,” wrote Knicks Muse on Tuesday.
Reed was voted as one of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” in 1996, and was chosen as one of the NBA 75, honoring the league's greatest players of all time, in 2021.
After retiring, Reed was the head coach and general manager for the New Jersey Nets, leading them to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Starting with the 2021–22 NBA season, the NBA Southwest Division champion would receive the Willis Reed Trophy.
The two-time NBA champion will be fondly remembered in New York and across the basketball world.
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