Injury and Grit: How Reed’s Knees Rewrote His Trajectory

Half of Willis Reed's greatness was bought with pain. The 1970 Game 5 thigh tear was dramatic, but the real career-shortener was his recurring knees.

From 1970-71 his knees deteriorated; regular-season games dropped from 80 to around 50 and then lower. For a defense-first center reliant on base and movement, the knee is lifeblood. Yet Reed chose conservative care and played through, rather than easy surgery.

That "grit" let him still be a core in the 1973 playoffs. But the long wear forced him to retire after just 18 games in 1973-74, at only 32. Absent injury, his winning pedigree could have meant another ring and more All-NBA nods.

Reed's retirement reminds us: 1970s medicine lagged far behind today, and many stars were "retired early" by injury. What he left New York was two titles and a captain's spirit of "hurt or not, show up."

Related Reading

• Willis Reed: Hard Work and Role Model— Willis Reed, a Spine Grown in Silence
• From Player to Coach: Reed’s Post-Playing Life
• The Defensive Anchor: How Reed Built the Knicks’ Iron Interior
• 1973 Again: Reed’s Second Finals MVP
• From Hico to New York: Reed’s Upbringing and the Draft