Willis Reed, Hall of Fame Center for Champion Knicks, Dies at 80

Bradley said the incident with Russell captured the essence of Reed, whom he called “a strong and selfless leader, who was the heart of our team.

“Even as the league’s M.V.P.,” Bradley continued, “he knew that the individual was never as important as the team, and that points were transitory, championships were forever.”

Reed’s greatest triumphs were the two championships in New York, but his most deflating career moment also came at Madison Square Garden. On Nov. 10, 1978, he was summoned there by Sonny Werblin, the Garden’s president, and fired just 14 games into his second season as Knicks coach, despite having made the playoffs in the previous season.

Reed did return to the Knicks in a nominal administrative role around the turn of the century. But he accepted an offer to join the New Orleans front office as vice president of basketball operations in June 2003. His widowed mother’s health was failing, and he relished the opportunity to be closer to the home he had built for her in Bernice.

The plan went awry when Inell Reed died four months later.

Reed’s survivors include his second wife, Gale, and a daughter, Veronica, whom he had with his first wife, Geraldine. A son, Karl, died in recent years.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/sports/basketball/willis-reed-dead.html