The MVP Grand Slam: A Center Who Swept Three Awards in One Season
Greatness is often measured in MVPs. In 1969-70 Willis Reed did something rarely copied: he took the regular-season MVP, All-Star MVP and Finals MVP all in the same year.
In the regular season he averaged 21.7 points and 13.9 rebounds, leading the Knicks to a league-best 60-22 and the MVP award. At the All-Star Game he scored 26 to take MVP. In the Finals, the injured Reed still earned FMVP on the strength of his leadership and clutch moments.
That "three-crown" feat is extremely rare—usually only a truly dominant, title-winning core achieves it in a single season. Reed was not the most explosive center (Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar were), but he was the most "winning" one: his value lay not in individual explosions but in turning a blue-collar Knicks team into champions.
Notably, Reed embodied the Knicks' "team basketball": a roster with no absolute superstar that beat the Lakers, Bullets and others on defense, passing and unity. His MVP was the highest praise for a "system core."
