Last Updated on 03/22/2023 by てんしょく飯
Willis Reed, the famous NBA Knicks centre and Hall of Famer, died of heart failure on 21 March, aged 80.
Mr Reed joined the Knicks in 1964 from Grambling State University (Louisiana).
He was a 208 cm, 107 kg centre and was the Rookie of the Year that season with 19.5 points and 14.7 rebounds. He was selected to seven ball games and helped the Knicks win their first championship in the 1970 Finals; he also won his second league championship in 1973 and was named among the NBA’s ’50 Greatest’ in 1996 to celebrate the league’s 50th anniversary.
In the 1970 Finals (vs. the Lakers), he scored a total of 137 points through Game 4, but a thigh injury in Game 5 resulted in seven points and he missed Game 6. He was also likely to miss the seventh and final game at New York’s Madison Square Garden, but emerged from the aisle just before the game and radio announcer Marv Albert said, “The virus is here. The crowd is going wild’, the play-by-play announcer said. The Lakers have one of the league’s best centres, Wilt Chamberlain, and the way he stood up to his rival despite his legs not moving was an inspiration to his teammates.
Willis, who was nicknamed “Captain”, played 27 minutes in the final game and scored only four points on two early shots, but guard Walt Frazier scored 36 points and dished out 19 assists. The Knicks achieved their first Finals victory at home, but it was Reed who was named MVP, and the game will go down as ‘THE WILLIS REED GAME’.
He was active for 10 seasons due to knee and other injuries, and played a total of 650 games, scoring 18.7 points and grabbing 12.9 rebounds. He was a five-time All-NBA selection (one first-team and four second-team), and after his retirement he also worked as a coach and GM at Creighton University (Nebraska), the Knicks and the Nets. However, Wills was not present at a ceremony on 25 February to mark the 50th anniversary of the Knicks’ 1973 championship.
コメント