The Captain rarely gets his due, often forgotten despite having a breathtaking resume. Willis Reed is one of only 10 players to win a MVP award, Finals MVP, and Championship in the same season. He was the leader and Finals MVP on the only two title teams the blue, orange, and white have ever mustered.
Reed had a shortened but dominant run leading the Knicks in their golden era. Despite retiring in 1974, to this day Reed is one of only 10 players to own multiple Finals MVP awards.
The Resume:
Eighth Overall Pick 1964 – New York Knicks
7x All-Star
5x All-NBA
All NBA Defense
Rookie of the Year
All-Star MVP
MVP
2x Finals MVP
2x Champion
Hall of Fame
How did the guys rank him?
The Flag Bearer: Josh Eberley (29).
The Barn Burner: Brian Geltzeiler (NR).
How did the other guys rank Reed: Marc Griffin (30), Justin Salkin (30), Lang Greene (31), Justin Rowan (33), James Holas (35), Matt Drappel (36), Justin Termine (36), Adi Joseph (38), Shane Young (38), Jacob Noble (39), Robert Littal (42), and Will Reeve (49).
#35 Thursday, September 3rd.
Don’t like it? Think we got it wrong? Maybe, just maybe we got it right? Let us know using the #HCHot50 hash-tag. Or give the contributors hell, contact info below. Any tweets with #HCHot50 may be featured on the site going forward, tweet us your feedback!
Contributors:
Josh Eberley – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JoshEberley
Jacob Noble – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JacobNoble_HC
James Holas – hoopscritic.com / BballBreakdown, @SnottieDrippen
Adi Joseph – sportingnews.com, @AdiJoseph
Matt Drappel – sportsnet.ca, @MattyD416
Justin Rowan – fearthesword.com / hoopslounge.com, @Cavsanada
Robert Littal – blacksportsonline.com, @BSO
Shane Young – hoopshabit.com, @YoungNBA
Justin Termine – Sirius XM NBA / cinesport.com host, @TermineRadio
Marc Griffin – hoopslounge.com / sportsnet.ca, @montrealmarc
Lang Greene – basketballinsiders.com, @LangGreene
Justin Salkin – hoopscritic.com / brooklynsbeat.com, @brooklynsbeat
Will Reeve – awfsports.com / Host of the All Weather Fan Podcast, contributor for hoopscritic.com @WillReeveJr
and of course,
Brian Geltzeiler – hoopscritic.com / Sirius XM NBA / the-cauldron.com / 120sports.com, @hoopscritic
Links to previous #HCHot50 pages: