Willis Reed

Birth Name: Willis Reed, Jr.

Date of Birth: June 25, 1942

Place of Birth: Hico, Louisiana, U.S.

Date of Death: March 21, 2023

Place of Death: Houston, Texas, U.S.

Ethnicity: African-American

Willis Reed was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. A center, he spent his entire playing career with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was finals MVP in 1970 and 1973, when the Knicks won their two championships. He was a coach for the New York Knicks, Creighton, and the New Jersey Nets, and an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, as a player. He was 6′10″.

Willis was the son of Inez Ross and Willis Reed. He was raised on his grandparents’ farm, and then in Bernice, Louisiana. Willis was married to nurse Gale Kennedy, until his death. He had two children with his former wife Geraldine Oliver.

Willis’s paternal grandfather was Whit Reed (the son of Taylor Reed and Isabella Gully).

Willis’s paternal grandmother was Lilla Walker (the daughter of Alford Walker and Easter Hiley Fitzpatrick).

Willis’s maternal grandfather was Early Washington Ross (the son of Mollie and John Wesley Ross).

Willis’s maternal grandmother was the daughter of Henry Love and Emma Washington.

Source: Obituaries of Willis’s parents – https://www.findagrave.com