Lew Alcindor versus Willis Reed

[@andrewright1509]

Willis Reed had a great mid range jumper.

[@klavzerblut]

Andre Wright crazy good yeah.

[@davidchan9632]

Games like these should be released on DVD especially from 1970 to 1974. I didn't buy the History DVD set. Some of those games are not the greatest games.

[@JLThisisMe]

Reed had a full complement of tools in his toolbox - great jumper, a hook, could put the ball on the floor and ran pretty well too. People forget just how good he was.

[@user-iv9er3nr6z]

Willis reed had no weakness great defender great shooter, rebounder, pass

[@bailinnumberguy]

That Knicks team of the early 70s started 5 HOFers w/ Reed, Debusschere, Bradley, Frazier, Monroe. When Reed was hurt they brought in Jerry Lucas, another Hall of Famer. Those were the days.

[@Amick44]

+Randy Bailin Yeah, though Bradley rode the others' coattails into the Hall. Is John Paxson or B.J. Armstrong joining Jordan or Pippen?

[@johntobin1770]

Young fans don't know how great Willis was. They think the post players of this era couldn't play now. Knicks were the definition of TEAM.

[@wilsonstone935]

Yeah they were, and they were loaded during that period, great team

[@spinedoc18]

The Golden Era of centers. Wilt, Kareem, Willis, Lanier, Unseld, Thurmond, (there must be others I'm forgetting at the moment).

[@barrye5376]

Reed The Heart and Soul of the Knicks - took them to two championships - in an injury shortened career!

[@Harrison2253]

Willis Reed was the best outside shooting center of that era

[@lloydkline3265]

Better than Bob Lanier

[@user-iv9er3nr6z]

Willis reed was a pre Bob lanear great lefty shooting big man

[@johntobin1770]

Noticed that jabber didn't get surly or physical with Willis. Everybody in the league knew except maybe wilt not to mess with Willis. I stood next to Willis and Unseld. They were the two biggest humans in terms of bulk that I've ever seen. Their simple width and mass were unhuman.

[@lilbru]

Unfortunately I never got to meet Wilt especially in the 80s.. he dwarfed them

[@klavzerblut]

Reed was such a beast. Great outside shot too. I would love to see Reed vs Shaq. I'm damn sure that Shaq wouldn't just bully Reed.

[@edscottable]

you make a good point. shaq bullied alot of his contemporaries. alot of people who only saw shaq and not willis, or moses malone, or wes unseld say that shaq is better because of his athleticism. he was not more skilled. and i say styles make fights. he would not have bullied any of these guys, so then what was left?

[@ice_man81]

Shaq couldn't survive in the up and down game.

[@Amick44]

kiikiikhan We know Willis wouldn't back down. Nor did Mourning.

[@Amick44]

Asher Asher Shaq could hardly play 70 games a year.

[@ice_man81]

Shaqs personality won him over with sports writers. No one ever admits he was going up against an old Vlade in Sac and an old Sabonis in Port. Lost to Big Ben in 04. Dwayne Wades team 06. Complete shit with the rest of his teams. # Phoenix

[@bobmoslow9554]

The Knicks were a perennial losing club until Willis came on the scene, He was a lot more than his statistics indicate. His leadership was what made the Knicks tick. Also, the departure of Walt Bellamy & Howie Komives (thank goodness) for Dave Debusherre made the team!!

[@Amick44]

Bob Moslow True. Bellamy was very good. Probably underrated. But Willis at center was a better fit and more versatile.

[@gavinothegreat5765]

willis a forgotten great, you never hear about

[@replaybb]

Believe me, no true Knick fan from that era will ever forget The Captain!

[@Amick44]

gavino thegreat Much like Nate Thurmond. Wilt and Russell, know though. So does Kareem.

[@tellthetruthg]

Ok you gotta be younger than 50 to not know about Willis . Gotta ring and battled the greatest 7’ footers Wilt and Kareem at 6’9 . So 6’9 is very very tall but next to Wilt and Kareem he looked short . Wilt and Kareem aren’t like the centers of today , they had skill. Shoot the ball besides a dunk or a put back and actually make good passes . Hypothetical arguments suck still if you don’t believe wilt and Kareem wouldn’t dominate in this era KZbin has the video to show u

[@Holy_hand-grenade]

My God. Reed has the prettiest jumper I've ever seen from a traditional big PF/C (as opposed to a hybrid big, in the Nowitzki / Durant / Giannis mould, who shoot a lot of outside shots and don't play in the post very often). While I'm not sure about the competition in the Bob Petit era and earlier, (pre 1954), from 53-54 on, with Wilt, Russell, Baylor, Reed, Robertson, Monroe, Bellamy, Frazier, West, Havliceck, and many others in the era up until Kareem's RC year, there was a TON of talent that would undoubtedly translate just find to the 80s, 90s, 00, or today. The big men were so fast and versatile between Reed, Alcindor, Wilt, Russell, and others. It's almost like we are just getting back to how it always was with versatile bigs with solid ball control, shooting and vision, after a coulee decades of GMs over focusing on height and size, when guys like Bradley, Muhressan, Diop, Thabeet, and a host of euro-stiffs and Chinese stiffs, who possessed height and not much else.

[@1337inzock]

His jumper is really pretty because its so quick, Durant is more small forward than Hybrid but what about Porzingiz, he has a pretty jumper and he will in the future be much stronger than Dirk. He will almost average a triple double with blocks. And you talking like "stiffs" cant play. They are the real deal. Alcindor only had a old Oscar, Reed had team with most HOF ever, only Boston 84 and Maybe lakers 87 will beat them. Kareem was a stiff. Tallest best player by far Yao Ming, would be HOF I not for injury. The potential was unique.

[@1337inzock]

You stupid or Trolling I say Kareem is mvp he is my fav center of alltime but I say Yao is the best tall player by far because he is the tallest in HOF. And Kareem 2.18m thats stiff

[@aChristian4RonPaul]

@@1337inzock you said, "but I say Yao is the best tall player by far because he is the tallest in HOF" That's bad logic. By your reasoning, if someone is 1 inch shorter than the tallest in HOF yet he dominates the tallest in the HOF and has better stats, more championships, etc, the tallest would be the "best tall player by far". That doesn't make sense.

[@roundtable3501]

The first full season with the shot clock was the 1954-1955 season, which happened to be Pettit’s rookie year. So I feel it’s a good transition point to start seriously evaluating players.

[@earlporter422]

Where's all the tattoos?

[@thebangkokconnection4080]

Reed was used to pushing Wilt around at this point and Kareem was young and still learning. Reed in that era was the most physical player in the game.

[@keithharris6442]

Ridiculous. It's well documented Wilt couldn't be pushed around by anyone. He dominated Reed in the paint. But Reeds skill was shooting outside drawing opposing centers away from the rim, including Wilt.

[@Jay_Hall]

Willis played super, really great center! I had to notice that Lew showed little of the extreme intensity that he showed when he went against Wilt, and Wilt quickly learned that he had to play at a higher level of intensity in going against Lew. The Wilt, Lew match ups were rather brutal, physical, this match up not nearly as much, but great to watch!!

[@lloydkline7245]

Jay Hall wilt had said jabber would play extra hard against wilt

[@Amick44]

@@lloydkline7245 Kareem admitted that, too. Maybe he felt he had such a height advantage on Willis, that he didn't have to. But tough to say.

[@lloydkline7245]

an very old big wilt out score jabber a few times and block few sky hooks too

[@Amick44]

@Tyler Hingleton Exactly. Wilt gave Kareem problems at his advanced age. As you pointed out, who knows what Wilt may have done if they played when he was younger and still wanted to score. By the time they played, Wilt shot and scored sparingly.

[@thescatman5029]

Man, that shot at the elbow, NO ONE was better than Reed at that.....!

[@davidhammond1521]

Amazing and fun to watch Willis Reed was a second round draft pick and only 6'9"going against Alcindor at 7'4"with his young self , and Reed's game is so sweet with that midrange jumper and soft touch he has . Also the Knicks back during this time were the best defensive team and one of the best teams ever with two Championships to prove it. Of course the Bucks won one with Alcindor before he became a Laker with an allstar cast while he put on five more Rings

[@Amick44]

David Hammond Willis (like Russell) brought it every night. Kareem, never knew how his moods might be affecting him. Differences with officials, frustration with missed calls, etc.

[@weiqi8956]

The Knicks were a team that played "small ball" back in the day. It's coming back with how the Warriors use the 3 pt line but the Knicks won two NBA titles with a lineup that had 5 starters that were all good shooters - Clyde, The Pearl (Dick Barnett), Bill Bradley, Dave Debusschere, and Willis Reed. Willis could really shoot the mid range J and was a bad matchup for Kareem although Willis couldn't stop Kareem either. There were so many excellent centers back then.

[@matthewmehegan3475]

I'm late to the game, but your parentheses seems to indicate that Dick Barnett was called "The Pearl." Broooooo! Earl "the Pearl" Monroe was traded to the Knicks after the '71 season for Dave Stallworth and Mike Riordan . . . and made the adjustment to team ball nicely . . . unlike Russell Westbrook's arrival to the Lakers. LOL!

[@brianarbenz7206]

The NBA was covered professionally by ABC. Not the junk phraseology and highlight reel show of today. Pro basketball was good, as was coverage.

[@JoshCConnor]

The best coverage of the NBA was with NBC period

[@creativeuserneim]

this was like the old guard vs the new school, over the years Kareem would of course prove to be the better center, but nonetheless Willis Reed was a great competitor and player. RIP Captain

[@Babyboo186]

NOV. 28, 1970 - Bucks' enter game with a 16‐Game Winning Streak

[@klavzerblut]

Both awesome players.

[@michaelhoffman5486]

if you r going to go with the ultimatre rocky style chills up your spine sports performances willis willis willis heart soul detrmination rip leader you guys were the best ever for me 1970

[@DJVijilante]

Man. Watching this makes it obvious how green Jabbar is here and how much his game sharpened as he got older. I thought that skyhook was always so perfect, but looking at the video makes it obvious how he perfected over the years.

[@choward5430]

I just realized Willis Reed is better than any big in today's game. Jabbar goes without saying.

[@davitdanelia1749]

Reed was coolest olayer ever

[@willielittle9301]

Kareem was a really dominant scorer for a big man...He is now the second all time NBA scorer behind LeBron James...Willis Reed was exceptional because he was really a power forward mastering the center position...

[@davidhammond1521]

I like the name Lew Alcindor much better than Kareem . You can see his hook has not quite developed into what it became but always unblockable except by WILT. WOW they actually called charging back then now it's BS. and traveling is overlooked and to much emphasis on the dunk and 3ptr. I believe some of the old teams would prevail against the current NBA teams if they called the game properly

[@KSmall109CAB]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor. Like Muhammad Ali, Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, and Howard Cosell, he chose to change his name. Whatever your personal beliefs are, you have to respect Kareem for his name change. As per the teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s competing against the teams of the day, I think the teams back then would win hands down. People back then actually knew how to play and they learned the fundamentals. The guys who were in the NBA back then played college ball for four years; it was the talent-desperate ABA that gave us the hardship draft that led to guys leaving school as freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Spencer Haywood was the first and he opened the door for more hardship cases. Bill Willoughby and Darryl Dawkins were drafted out of high school by the NBA. Willoughby was never more than a marginal NBA player, while Dawkins missed out on learning many fundamentals. He also never matured. Abdul-Jabbar could score and he did it night in and night out against other top centers. Wilt Chamberlain arguably redefined the center position, along with perhaps George Mikan when the NBA got started. However, I think Kareem faced tougher opponents than either Chamberlain or Mikan. This clip you see here is only a snippet of what Kareem had to face for 20 years.

[@keithharris6442]

​@KSmall109CAB Kareem's toughest opponent was Wilt. Later, he had Magic clearing the lane for him. Like all greats, they don't win rings on their own. He won no rings without Oscar or Magic.

[@drewgaston189]

Great play by 2 greats

[@reptilegreen5312]

kool shorts!

[@sicnarf6971]

Reed underrated

[@DrJohnnyJ]

Reed shows his hook, running one hander, quick mid-range jumper, along with tremendous quickness. People that played against him talked about his strength. Sorry to modern fans but he would kick butt today.

[@matthewmehegan3475]

Truth! In game five of the '70 playoffs against the Baltimore Bullets and Wes Unseld, Reed had 36 points and . . . wait for it . . . 36 rebounds!! WTH?? These days, a guy gets 16 rebounds and all the announcers soil their dyties.

[@bartonpercival3216]

@@matthewmehegan3475 Yup that game was at the Garden. I remember the long time Knick public address announcer at the Garden John FX Condon telling the fans that over the arena microphone. "And the leading scorer for the Knickerbockers was Willis Reed with 36 points, and 36 rebounds"

[@lloydkline3265]

Willis Reed had no weakness shooter, defender and rebounder

[@bishlap]

Lew Alcindor while w/ The Bucks was the best Center I've seen play.

[@TNMUSlC]

Reed was cooking up against any center. 2X champ is amazing. IMO I take Reed over Russell anyday

[@aChristian4RonPaul]

Saying "2X champ is amazing" and then following up with "IMO I take Reed over Russell anyday", considering Russell won 11 of 13 championships. No one has done that but him. Furthermore, Russell said that during his prime, there would be some games that he only shot 6 times for the night, because his focus was on the team winning the game.

[@roundtable3501]

@Official T.N Lol, Bill Russell outplayed Willis Reed in the 1969 playoffs. 1969 was when Reed was at his absolute peak while russell retired after that season.

[@williamtaylor5193]

Willis always came to play and win. I forgot just how good he was offensively. Lew was unstoppable, and had great quickness. If he got posted up down low, you were in trouble.

[@jerryhinton9409]

Wllis with the soft touch!

[@Solanegore]

THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT KAREEM! YOU ARE BATTLING A HOF WILLIS REED..... THATS WHY EITHER YOU WILT OR RUSSELL IS THE GOAT.....

[@Solanegore]

HUH?

[@Solanegore]

YEAH....60'S HAD WILT, RUSSELL, ELVIN HAYES, BELLAMY, THURMOND, REED, WES UNSELD

[@Amick44]

***** Amen! One or the other.

[@Amick44]

***** There are practically no centers today. Strange, since not the case with guards or forwards.

[@Amick44]

***** For sure. A bunch of crap "Wilt and Russell's only competition was each other." Are you kidding??

[@KISS_MY_CONVERSE]

willis reed is more athletic than zach randolph and stronger.

[@LazlosPlane]

No contest. None.

[@jacksmith5692]

34 for Willis, 33 for Lew and from 1969 to 1971 they played 16 times and the Knicks won 14 despite the Bucks winning 122 games to the Knicks 112. Reed averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds against Alcindor and shot almost 55% despite being 6'8 and a half. This was the dominate Lew who averaged over 30 points and 17 rebounds. If Reed didn't hurt his knee right before the 1971 playoffs and remained healthy and played until at least 35, the Knicks would of won 5 to 6 NBA titles. Remember in 1973 playing at 60% of what he had been, Reed scored 61 points against Wilt in the last 3 games of the 1973 finals to win his second title. Years later an old 38 to 41 year old Jabbar dominated Ewing winning 8 of 8 games and scoring over 20 a game in 29 minutes shooting over 60%. Ewing was gutless shooting 41% and only averaging 17 points against the old Jabbar. Patrick Ewing was so overrated and Willis Reed would of destroyed him if he played him in his prime. Reed was also the best fighter in the NBA in his day! Pat Ewing sucks.

[@frylockfromathf9592]

wow this is dumb 🙄

[@KSmall109CAB]

Willis Reed was a great player during his time. He was fortunate to have several years' worth of experience over Kareem during their confrontations in 69-70 and 70-71. Reed himself admits that he was fortunate to play against Kareem those years as opposed to later on because Kareem was still learning the pro game. As per Patrick Ewing, no need to denigrate him. He was a great center in his era and kept the Knicks in playoff or NBA championship contention for a number of years. He was in some ways less fortunate than Reed because Ewing's surrounding cast was arguably less talented. Reed played with several teammates who were NBA all-stars and future Hall of Fame members. Ewing was less fortunate. We'll never know how Reed would have fared against Ewing because they played in different eras. We'll also never know if Reed would have been as effective against Abdul-Jabbar as Kareem gained NBA experience. Reed and Ewing both have their numbers hanging from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. To me, that speaks to the greatness of them both.

[@thehardesthitting145lb3]

L

[@bartonpercival2147]

KSmall109CAB e

[@adolfomeza5457]

Willis red era un jugador mediocre con unos números ridículos igual a el no merecía estar entre los 50 mejores del mundo fue un jugador del montón un bueno para nada.