Ahead of tip-off between the Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Nets coach Jacque Vaughn celebrated the late, nice, Willis Reed, who tragically handed away at age 80 earlier within the day.
Neither head coach had a private relationship with Reed — a two-time NBA champion dubbed one of many “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” after spending his whole enjoying profession with the Knicks earlier than assuming each head coach and normal supervisor positions with the then-New Jersey Nets.
“I didn’t have a relationship, but there’s a respect that I had for him,” mentioned Bickerstaff, whose father Bernie grew to become an assistant coach for the Capital Bullets the throughout Reed’s remaining season earlier than retirement. “There was a relationship obviously with my father being one of his peers and there’s an admiration for all the things that he did in this league, not just as a player but as an ambassador for the league.”
Bickerstaff mentioned Reed’s affect on the NBA transcended his talents on the basketball courtroom. The Hall of Fame massive man averaged 18.7 factors, 12.9 rebounds and performed all however one season earlier than the NBA started monitoring block and steal statistics within the 1973-74 season. Reed was the 1964-65 Rookie of the Year, received All-Star Game MVP, Finals MVP and league MVP all in the identical season (1970) and was named to the 2021-22 NBA seventy fifth Anniversary Team final 12 months.
He helped ship the Knicks their solely two championships in franchise historical past in 1970 and 1973 — however Bickerstaff mentioned what stood out most about Reed was his selflessness.
“You just watch those guys that came before you, and you watch how they treat people, how they respect the game, and he just always seemed like a really genuine and kind person that was more concerned about the greater good than he was with himself, and I think as a leader he set the tone that way,” the Cavs’ coach mentioned. “Whatever was happening, it wasn’t just gonna be about him. It was gonna be about the entire NBA and all the players, all his teammates, and that’s something that I really admired.”
Vaughn additionally mentioned he had no private relationship with Reed, however he knew the native historical past: Reed was promoted to normal supervisor and Vice President of basketball operations for the New Jersey Nets from 1989-1996. When he grew to become senior Vice President, the Nets made back-to-back journeys to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
“And so condolences to the family. The NBA, we’ve lost a giant in the game,” Vaughn mentioned. “Legendary moment that he produced over his career, a winner; and it’s great to hear some of the things that have been said about him. You know, when you leave this earth, you want people to remember you for who you were, how are you able to contribute to society; and he was able to contribute in a lot of good ways.”
Reed nonetheless holds quite a lot of NBA information: Most consecutive discipline targets made in a single NBA Finals recreation (11 – Game 1, 1970 NBA Finals); oldest participant to file a triple-double (age 38 years and 7 days previous); most free throws made in a single NBA Finals recreation with out a miss (12); most rebounds in an NBA Finals collection (140); and most minutes performed in a single NBA Finals recreation (46 minutes, 38 seconds).
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Source: www.bostonherald.com