Willis Reed’s estimated net worth was in the millions of dollars. For ten years, the basketball great tore up the NBA with the New York Knicks, signing a slew of lucrative deals.
Reed was one of the most difficult players in the NBA to guard and a consistent double-double scorer. Nonetheless, his salary was nowhere like what NBA players in the year 2023 receive. However, Reed’s contracts were very significant.
If you want to know how much money Willis Reed has, then you should read this whole post.
What was Willis Reed’s Net Worth?
Willis Reed, a former NBA player, coach, and GM from the United States, was worth $5 million. Willis Reed spent his whole 13-year National Basketball Association career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks. He is often mentioned among the top 50 NBA stars of all time. He was the most valuable player of the NBA Finals in both of the Knicks’ NBA championship seasons (1970 and 1973).
Also, he was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1970. Following his retirement, he worked as a coach for a few different teams before taking his current position with the New Jersey Nets as general manager and vice president of basketball operations.
He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1982. Willis Reed passed away at the age of eighty on March 21, 2023.
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Willis Reed’s Career in Playing Basketball
After the first round of the 1964 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks picked Willis Reed as the eighth overall pick. As a result of his immediate impact on the court, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
Throughout the next decade, he anchored the Knicks’ defense alongside Walt Frazier, helping to cement New York’s place as a defensive powerhouse. Reed was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 1970 and led the Knicks to titles in 1970 and 1973.
Willis Reed scored 12,183 points, grabbed 8,414 boards, and dished out 1,186 assists during his career, earning him seven All-Star nods. Both the NBA 50th Anniversary Team and NBA 75th Anniversary Team selected him.
In 1970, Reed was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1982, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The New York Knicks honored him by retiring his jersey No. 19.
Willis Reed’s Profession as a Coach
After spending one season as the head coach of the New York Knicks in 1977–78, Willis Reed moved on to the college levels, where he remained as the head coach of Creighton University from 1981–85.
After taking a break from the NBA, he worked as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings until being hired as head coach of the New Jersey Nets in 1988.
Willis Reed’s Getting a Job in the Front Office
Willis Reed was hired by the New Jersey Nets after his time as a coach to serve as general manager and vice president of basketball operations. Under his leadership, the club improved to the point that they were playoff contenders in the early 1990s, and in 1996, Reed was promoted to the position of senior vice president of basketball operations.
Two consecutive years (2002–2003) saw the Nets reach the NBA Finals. Reed retired in 2007 after serving as the New Orleans Hornets’ vice president of basketball operations since 2004.
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Willis Reed’s Pop Culture References
Due to his toughness and endurance on the court, Willis Reed’s name became synonymous with continuing to play despite an injury. He has also been referenced in rap songs, such as “Basketball” (1984) by Kurtis Blow and “Long Burn The Fire” (2011) by the Beastie Boys.
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