NBA Throwback: Willis Reed leads NY Knicks to first title
On March 8, 1970, the New York Knicks led-by Willis Reed and Walt Frazier, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the NBA finals, winning their first championship.
In a series littered with future Hall of Famers, Reed was the stand-out performer.
Reed was drafted by the Knicks with the eighth-overall pick in the 1964 NBA draft. Interestingly, the Knicks also had the first overall pick in this draft, with which they selected Jim Barnes.
Reed had a storied basketball career, spending his entire ten-year career with the Knicks. Barnes, on the other hand, was traded after his first season with the Knicks, and became a journeyman, bouncing around the league.
In 1970, when Willis Reed was lifting the NBA championship, Jim Barnes was almost out of the league. He played his last 11 games with the Baltimore Bullets in the 1970-71 season and was cut mid-season.
The New York Knicks' road to glory began with Willis Reed
Reed started out strong right out of the gate, winning the Rookie of the Year award and being named to the All-Star team in 1965. In his first five years in the league, he put up solid averages of 19.5 points and 13.7 rebounds. Throughout the 1960s, he remained a tier below the decade's premier centers, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
The Knicks improved from year-to-year, going from a 31-49 record in 1964-65 to a 54-28 record in 1968-69. The roster was bolstered with the addition of Walt Frazier and Dave DeBusschere, future Hall of Famers who turned out to be pivotal pieces in their 1970 title run.
In the 1968-69 season, the New York Knicks seemed to have a squad capable of making a title push. Playing in the Eastern Division during the 1960s meant that a date with the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics dynasty was inevitable.
The Celtics proved to be too much to handle for the Knicks, with the veterans prevailing over the less experienced team in six games in the Eastern Division Finals.
This was the last hurrah for Russell's Celtics, who had won nine championships that decade. Russell announced his retirement, shortly after winning the title in 1969. The end of the Celtics dynasty left the door open for the rest of the NBA, with Willis Reed's Knicks being one of the prime contenders.
1969-70 NBA Season: Willis Reed's annus mirabilis
Willis Reed averaged 21.7 points and 13.9 rebounds, and led the New York Knicks to a league-best 60-22 record. With Walt Frazier also averaging over 20 points to go with his 8.2 assists and Dave DeBusschere averaging a double-double, the Knicks seemed poised to make a title run.
The Knicks' 60 wins included a then-record 18 consecutive wins on the trot. For his efforts, Willis Reed was awarded the 1970 MVP award, in a close vote. Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers, who averaged 31.2 points and 7.5 assists, finished just 41 points behind Reed in the MVP voting. West's MVP case was likely hampered by his team being 14 wins behind the Knicks.
With the reigning MVP leading the way, the Knicks entered the 1970 playoffs as the favorites but got off to a rocky start.
In the first round, they were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Baltimore Bullets. 28-point performances from both Dave Debusschere and Dick Barnett saved their season.
The Knicks held off the Bullets in Game 7 and advanced to the next round to face the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls proved to be not much of a challenge for the Knicks, who defeated them in five games and advanced to the NBA Finals.
The was the Knicks fourth Finals appearance. Their previous three Finals appearances were from 1951-53, all of which they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers. In the 1970 Finals, they found themselves once again matched-up against the Lakers, who had meanwhile moved to Los Angeles.
With strong showings from their All-Star trio, the Knicks jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the series. However, disaster struck in Game 5 when Willis Reed suffered a thigh injury. Even though they managed to win the game, the future looked bleak for the Knicks.
In Game 6, in Reed's absence, Wilt Chamberlain dominated the game on both ends, scoring 45 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in a blowout win to force a Game 7.
All hope seemed to be lost for the Knicks. It was expected that Willis Reed, who had missed the previous game, would not play in Game 7. In one of the most iconic moments in NBA history, Willis Reed emerged from the tunnel to a raucous ovation from the sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd.
"When I saw Willis come out…I thought 'If he can fly, so can we'"
– Teammate Bill Bradley on a hobbled Willis Reed emerging from the Garden tunnel for Game 7
The Knicks won the game & the championship
On this day in 1970
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Willis Reed scored the first two buckets of the game for the Knicks, but did not score again. His mere presence on the court proved to be the difference.
His teammates, inspired by Reed's perseverance in the face of adversity, stepped up and closed out the series to win the first championship in franchise history. Reed did a fantastic job on the defensive end, holding Wilt Chamberlain to just 21 points.
His averages of 23 points and 10.5 rebounds earned Willis Reed the NBA Finals MVP trophy. Since he had already won the regular season MVP award and was abjudged the MVP of the All-Star game, Reed became the first person to win all three MVP trophies in a single season. This feat has since been matched only by Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.
When the NBA announced its 50 greatest players list in 1996, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Walt Frazier found themselves on it. The NBA also released a top 10 greatest teams of all time list that year, a list which included the 1969-70 New York Knicks.
Willis Reed passed away in March of this year. An icon of New York basketball, he will forever be fondly remembered by Knicks fans.