NBA Hall of Famer Willis Reed passes away at age 80

Willis Reed (Twitter)

According to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press on Tuesday, basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana passed away at the age of 80 on Tuesday. Reed played 10 seasons with the New York Knicks from 1964 to 1974, and was an All-Star in his first seven National Basketball Association seasons from 1965 to 1971.

Reed played 650 NBA regular season games and averaged 18.7 points per game, 12.9 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of .476 and a free throw percentage of .747. Primarily a center, Reed did move over to power forward as his primary position for three seasons from 1966 to 1968, before moving back to pivot where he remained for the rest of his career.

Reed was named the most valuable player of the 1970 NBA season. He had 21.7 points per game and 13.9 rebounds per game.

Twice Reed won the NBA Finals and was named NBA Finals MVP with the Knicks on each occasion. The first time came in 1970 and the second time in 1973. In 1970, the Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers four games to three in the NBA Finals. Reed led the Knicks in scoring in game one of the 1970 Finals by scoring 37 points in a 124-112 Knicks win. Then in game three, Reed scored 38 points in a 111-108 Knicks overtime win.

In 1973, the Knicks beat the Lakers again, this time four games to one. Reed had a double-double in the last three games of the series, including 22 points and 10 rebounds in game three, an 87-83 Knicks win.

Reed was nominated into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. After his playing career, he also spent two seasons each coaching the Knicks (1977 to 1979) and the New Jersey Nets (1987 to 1989).

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