Willis Reed passes away at 80 / News - Basketnews.com

NBA legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed died at 80 years old.

On Tuesday morning, Hall of Famer Willis Reed passed away at 80 years old, according to the National Basketball Retired Players Association.

No cause of death was disclosed but sports columnist Peter Vecsey said that Reed suffered from congestive heart problems over the past year. He had recently gone through rehab to walk again.

Reed, a New York Knicks legend, is a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and 1970 MVP award winner.

The center spent his entire professional playing career with the Knicks, from 1964 to 1974, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. His No. 19 jersey was retired by New York in 1976.

Reed's career was cut short by injuries, and he retired shortly after the second title run.

He went on to coach the Knicks, Creighton, andeventually joined the New Jersey Nets in 1988, first as a coach and then as a member of the front office, helping to build the franchise into a championship contender in the early 2000s.

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