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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Willis Reed
Career at a glance
Willis Reed played 10 NBA regular seasons between 1964 and 1974, appearing in 650 games and averaging 18.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He spent his whole career with New York (1964–74, 650 games). His best scoring season was 1969–70 with New York: 21.7 points per game over 81 games.
He rebounded best in 1964–65 at 14.7 per game. Championship seasons: 1969–70 (New York), 1972–73 (New York). In the playoffs he appeared in 7 postseason runs (78 games, 17.4 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 12,200 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total). Among the 404 players with at least 200 NBA games profiled on whynba, Reed ranks No. 13 in rebounds per game.
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About 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
- June 25, 1942 Hico, Louisiana, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
- Listed weight
- 240 lb (109 kg)
- Position
- Center
- High school
- West Side (Lillie, Louisiana)
- College
- Grambling State (1960–1964)
- NBA draft
- 1964: 2nd round, 8th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1964–1974
Career highlights and awards
- 2× NBA champion (1970, 1973)
- 2× NBA Finals MVP (1970, 1973)
- NBA Most Valuable Player (1970)
- 7× NBA All-Star (1965–1971)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (1970)
- All-NBA First Team (1970)
- 4× All-NBA Second Team (1967–1969, 1971)
- NBA All-Defensive First Team (1970)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1965)
- NBA All-Rookie Team (1965)
- NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- No. 19 retired by New York Knicks
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–65 | New York | 80* | — | 38.0 | .432 | — | .742 | 14.7 | 1.7 | — | — | 19.5 |
| 1965–66 | New York | 76 | — | 33.4 | .434 | — | .757 | 11.6 | 1.2 | — | — | 15.5 |
| 1966–67 | New York | 78 | — | 36.2 | .489 | — | .735 | 14.6 | 1.6 | — | — | 20.9 |
| 1967–68 | New York | 81 | — | 35.5 | .490 | — | .721 | 13.2 | 2.0 | — | — | 20.8 |
| 1968–69 | New York | 82 | — | 37.9 | .521 | — | .747 | 14.5 | 2.3 | — | — | 21.1 |
| 1969–70† | New York | 81 | — | 38.1 | .507 | — | .756 | 13.9 | 2.0 | — | — | 21.7 |
| 1970–71 | New York | 73 | — | 39.1 | .462 | — | .785 | 13.7 | 2.0 | — | — | 20.9 |
| 1971–72 | New York | 11 | — | 33.0 | .438 | — | .692 | 8.7 | 2.0 | — | — | 13.4 |
| 1972–73† | New York | 69 | — | 27.2 | .474 | — | .742 | 8.6 | 1.8 | — | — | 11.0 |
| 1973–74 | New York | 19 | — | 26.3 | .457 | — | .792 | 7.4 | 1.6 | .6 | 1.1 | 11.1 |
| Career | 650 | — | 35.5 | .476 | — | .747 | 12.9 | 1.8 | .6 | 1.1 | 18.7 | |
| All-Star | 7 | 4 | 23.0 | .452 | — | .750 | 8.3 | 1.0 | — | — | 12.6 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | New York | 4 | — | 37.0 | .538 | — | .960 | 13.8 | 1.8 | — | — | 27.5 |
| 1968 | New York | 6 | — | 35.0 | .541 | — | .733 | 10.3 | 1.8 | — | — | 21.3 |
| 1969 | New York | 10 | — | 42.9 | .510 | — | .786 | 14.1 | 1.9 | — | — | 25.7 |
| 1970† | New York | 18 | — | 40.7 | .471 | — | .737 | 13.8 | 2.8 | — | — | 23.7 |
| 1971 | New York | 12 | — | 42.0 | .413 | — | .667 | 12.0 | 2.3 | — | — | 15.7 |
| 1973† | New York | 17 | — | 28.6 | .466 | — | .857 | 7.6 | 1.8 | — | — | 12.8 |
| 1974 | New York | 11 | — | 12.0 | .378 | — | .600 | 2.0 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 3.4 |
| Career | 78 | — | 33.9 | .474 | — | .765 | 10.3 | 1.9 | .2 | .0 | 17.4 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 10″
- Weight
- 240 lb
- Position
- Center
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1964
- Draft pick
- Round 2 · Pick 8
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
View the official NBA player profile ↗