Willis Reed Jr. (June 25, 1942 – March 21, 2023) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager.

He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

After retiring as a player, Reed served as assistant and head coach with several teams for nearly a decade, then was promoted to general manager and vice president of basketball operations (1989–1996) for the New Jersey Nets.

[1][2] Reed was born three weeks before his father joined the Army for the duration of World War II.

[3] His parents moved from his grandparents' farm to Bernice, Louisiana, where they worked to ensure Reed got an education in the segregated South.

[4][3] Reed was All-State in football (as an end) and basketball, and he set a state record in the discus throw.

Reed attended Grambling State University, a historically black college, playing under coach Fred Hobby.

[2] Reed quickly made a name for himself as a fierce, dominating, and physical force on both ends of the floor as a center.

[12] In the 1969–70 season, the Knicks won a franchise-record 60 games and set a then single-season NBA record with an 18-game win streak.

[11] Reed's most famous performance happened on May 8, 1970, in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in Madison Square Garden.

[14] After the game in the winner's locker room, a moved Howard Cosell told Reed on national television, "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer.

In the middle of the season against the Cincinnati Royals, Reed tied Harry Gallatin's all-time team record of 33 rebounds.

His season average was 20.9 points and 13.7 rebounds per game, but the Knicks were knocked out by the Baltimore Bullets in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Without Reed, the Knicks still managed to make the NBA Finals, but were defeated in five games by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Bullets and upset the Boston Celtics, and again faced the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

[26] During that time, he drafted Kenny Anderson and Derrick Coleman,[11] acquired Dražen Petrović, and made the Nets a playoff contender throughout the early 1990s.

[11] In 1996, Reed was promoted to senior vice president of basketball operations, while continuing his goal of turning the Nets into championship contenders.