Who was Willis Reed’s wife?
Who was Willis Reed?
Willis Reed was a professional basketball player and coach. He played for New York Knicks his entire professional basketball career from 1964 to 1974.
After he retired, Reed became an assistant coach and head coach for several teams such as New York Knicks, Creighton, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, and New Jersey Nets.
In 1989, Reed became the general manager and vice president of basketball operations for the New Jersey Nets until 1996.
Reed was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. One of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” in 1996, he was chosen. By being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in October 2021, Reed was once more recognized as one of the league’s all-time best players.
Willis Reed’s Wife
Reed got married to his wife Gale Kennedy in 1983 in Roslyn Heights, New York. Gale worked as a nurse.
Reed was previously married to his first wife Geraldine. They had two children together.
Willis Reed Cause of Death
Reed died on March 21, 2023, at the age of 80 from heart failure. He was born on June 25, 1942, in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
In his basketball career, he was 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) and weighed 235 lb (107 kg).
Willis Reed Background
Reed was born in Hico, Louisiana, a tiny community in Lincoln Parish, on June 25, 1942. Willis Sr. and Inell Reed raised him as their only child. He was raised in Bernice, Louisiana. Reed displayed athletic talent at a young age and attended West Side High School in Lillie, Louisiana.
Reed went to Grambling State University, which is a historically black institution. Reed accumulated 2,280 career points while playing for the Grambling State Tigers men’s basketball team, averaging 26.6 points per game and 21.3 rebounds per game during his senior year.
He led the Tigers to one NAIA championship and three Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. Reed also joined the Phi Beta Sigma society.
Willis Reed Basketball Career
Reed gave his heart and soul to his team during his time as a professional basketball player and coach. Popularly known as the Captain, Reed played the Knicks on 10 seasons in the NBA.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 after he retired in 1974. He was also the first member of the Knicks to have his number retired.
Reed made history in 1970 during the NBA finals at Madison Square Garden. He was injured in Game 5 while playing against the Lakers missing Game 6. He injured his right thigh and wasn’t able to play for the next game.
During Game 7, people were not sure if Reed would play due to the injury. He limped out of the tunnel shocking everyone even his teammates.
“They stopped doing what they were doing to look and see how Willis was. Something told me then man, they’re very concerned. We may have these guys.” Reed’s teammate Walt Frazier said.
Years later Reed said he was sure he was going to play despite his injury.
“This was something we all wanted very badly,” he said. “It was so close you could touch it. It’s one game. It was what I dreamed of as a high school kid. It was what I worked so hard in college for. Not only me but everyone in that locker room. The coaches. Management.
“For me to not go out there to try and be a part of that, to try and give whatever I could — and I didn’t know what it was — then I would be letting them down and letting myself down. If I tried and failed that’s the way I wanted it. I didn’t want to be a guy who didn’t come out and show he had the guts and grit to be there. … That was the moment to try.”
In that game, he was able to score two baskets even though his thigh was heavily wrapped.
Reed was selected by The New York Knicks with the first pick in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft. He scored 46 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in March 1965 becoming the second-highest single-game total ever by the Knicks’ rookie.
The Knicks won a franchise-record 60 games in 1969-70 and established a then-single-season NBA record with an 18-game win streak. Reed was the first player in NBA history to be awarded NBA All-Star Game MVP, NBA Regular Season MVP, and NBA Finals MVP all in the same season, in 1970.
He was selected to the All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Defensive First Team that same year, as well as ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year and Sporting News NBA MVP.
Reed’s basketball career was cut short by multiple injuries. He retired after the 1973-74 season. Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 boards per game in 650 games played. He was a member of seven All-Star Games.