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Player profile · NYK
Willis Reed
Willis Reed stats, teams and career impact
#96 all-timeCareer averages · 18.7 PPG · 12.9 RPG · 1.8 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Center
- Final NBA team
- New York Knicks
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 10 in (208 cm) · 235 lb (107 kg)
- Born
- June 25, 1942
- Died
- March 21, 2023 (80 yrs old)
- College
- Grambling State University
- NBA seasons
- 10 seasons · 1964–65 to 1973–74
Career summaryWillis Reed was a center who played 10 NBA seasons, from 1964–65 through 1973–74.
- Career PPG
- 18.7
- Career RPG
- 12.9
- Career APG
- 1.8
- #4 in 1968–69
- #96 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Willis Reed ranks #96 all time
Willis Reed ranks #96 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #8.0. His full-career value ranks #170, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
2 top-ten finishes
650 games · Career Value Rank #170
NBA honors7× All-Star · MVP · 5× All-NBA · All-Defense · ROYContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Willis Reed with…
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- Willis Reed vs. Dan Issel Similar career path
- Willis Reed vs. Pascal Siakam Similar career path
- Willis Reed vs. Clyde Lovellette Similar career path
- Willis Reed vs. Jarrett Allen Similar career path
- Willis Reed vs. Jakob Poeltl Similar career path
- Willis Reed vs. Rich Kelley Similar career path
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- New York Knicks
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 47.6%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 74.7%FT%
650 career games · 23,073 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Willis Reed stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–74 | 11.1 | 7.4 | 1.6 | +0.94 | NYK | 19 | 17 | 26.3 | 45.7% | — | 79.2% | #40 | 31.7 |
| 1972–73 | 11.0 | 8.6 | 1.8 | +1.40 | NYK | 69 | 44 | 27.2 | 47.4% | — | 74.2% | #30 | 140.6 |
| 1971–72 | 13.4 | 8.7 | 2.0 | -0.66 | NYK | 11 | 9 | 33.0 | 43.8% | — | 69.2% | — | 10.9 |
| 1970–71 | 20.9 | 13.7 | 2.0 | +2.56 | NYK | 73 | 72 | 39.1 | 46.2% | — | 78.5% | #11 | 304.5 |
| 1969–70 | 21.7 | 13.9 | 2.0 | +3.01 | NYK | 81 | 81 | 38.1 | 50.7% | — | 75.6% | #9 | 368.3 |
| 1968–69 | 21.1 | 14.5 | 2.3 | +3.79 | NYK | 82 | 82 | 37.9 | 52.1% | — | 74.7% | #4 | 421.1 |
| 1967–68 | 20.8 | 13.2 | 2.0 | +2.00 | NYK | 81 | 81 | 35.5 | 49.0% | — | 72.1% | #12 | 281.4 |
| 1966–67 | 20.9 | 14.6 | 1.6 | +1.60 | NYK | 78 | 76 | 36.2 | 48.9% | — | 73.5% | #15 | 251.0 |
| 1965–66 | 15.5 | 11.6 | 1.2 | -1.12 | NYK | 76 | 71 | 33.4 | 43.4% | — | 75.7% | #55 | 55.5 |
| 1964–65 | 19.5 | 14.7 | 1.7 | +0.53 | NYK | 80 | 80 | 38.0 | 43.2% | — | 74.2% | #25 | 182.3 |
| Career | 18.7 | 12.9 | 1.8 | — | NYK | 650 | — | 35.5 | 47.6% | — | 74.7% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Willis Reed highlights
Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.
Finals archive
Willis Reed answers the call
The brief archive preserves Reed's iconic Game 7 return and gives emotional context to the leadership at the center of the Knicks' first title.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
13.8 composite · lower is better
10.2 average league finish
2,047 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How Willis Reed ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score13.8
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 135.0
- Qualified seasons
- 9
- All-time rank
- #96
Strongest seasons
Every season
Willis Reed advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–74Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 31 | 19 | 500 | +0.94 | 77.8 | #40 | 31.7 | 43rd | Standard |
| 1972–73Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 30 | 69 | 1,876 | +1.40 | 83.1 | #30 | 140.6 | 75th | Modeled |
| 1971–72Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 29 | 11 | 363 | -0.66 | — | — | 10.9 | — | Modeled |
| 1970–71Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 28 | 73 | 2,855 | +2.56 | 94.0 | #11 | 304.5 | 91st | Modeled |
| 1969–70Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 27 | 81 | 3,089 | +3.01 | 94.3 | #9 | 368.3 | 94th | Modeled |
| 1968–69Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 26 | 82 | 3,108 | +3.79 | 97.7 | #4 | 421.1 | 98th | Modeled |
| 1967–68Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 25 | 81 | 2,879 | +2.00 | 90.8 | #12 | 281.4 | 89th | Modeled |
| 1966–67Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 24 | 78 | 2,824 | +1.60 | 86.0 | #15 | 251.0 | 88th | Modeled |
| 1965–66Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 23 | 76 | 2,537 | -1.12 | 41.9 | #55 | 55.5 | 55th | Modeled |
| 1964–65Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 22 | 80 | 3,042 | +0.53 | 73.0 | #25 | 182.3 | 81st | Modeled |
Career movement
Willis Reed's box impact by season
Peak box impact +3.79 points per 100 possessions in 1968–69 · 10 seasons · 23,073 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutesModeled estimate
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Willis ReedDan Issel
| NBA season | Willis Reed | Dan Issel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.5 | 2.6 |
| 2 | -1.1 | 2.8 |
| 3 | 1.6 | 2.1 |
| 4 | 2.0 | 3.9 |
| 5 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| 6 | 3.0 | 1.6 |
| 7 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
| 8 | -0.7 | 1.9 |
| 9 | 1.4 | 0.3 |
| 10 | 0.9 | Did not play |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Willis Reed
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
C · All-Time Career #199
Dan Issel
92career similarity score
90/100 closest-season score · 1968–69 ↔ 1977–78PF · All-Time Career #405Pascal Siakam
92career similarity score
89/100 closest-season score · 1968–69 ↔ 2021–22C · All-Time Career #73Clyde Lovellette
92career similarity score
90/100 closest-season score · 1968–69 ↔ 1957–58Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →