Rate peak Willis Reed

70sFan · Post #1 » by **70sFan** » Sat Feb 24, 2024 10:27 pm

How would you rate Willis Reed peak? Was he a legit MVP candidate to you? Strong all-nba guy? Something else?

If you need more full Reed games, I can provide a few unavailable ones.

Djoker · Post #2 » by **Djoker** » Sat Feb 24, 2024 11:16 pm

Reed definitely seemed like a player with a lot of impact but I'd say weak MVP level. He was a tier below Wilt, Russell, West and Kareem for instance.

70sFan · Post #3 » by **70sFan** » Tue Feb 27, 2024 10:30 pm

Djoker wrote:Reed definitely seemed like a player with a lot of impact but I'd say weak MVP level. He was a tier below Wilt, Russell, West and Kareem for instance.

How many peak centers would you consider over Reed?

Djoker · Post #4 » by **Djoker** » Wed Feb 28, 2024 4:56 am

70sFan wrote:
Djoker wrote:Reed definitely seemed like a player with a lot of impact but I'd say weak MVP level. He was a tier below Wilt, Russell, West and Kareem for instance.

How many peak centers would you consider over Reed?

Mikan
Russell
Wilt
Kareem
Walton
Moses
Hakeem
Robinson
Shaq
Jokic

So Reed starts being in the conversation around #11.

SinceGatlingWasARookie · Post #5 » by **SinceGatlingWasARookie** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 1:39 am

Djoker wrote:
70sFan wrote:
Djoker wrote:Reed definitely seemed like a player with a lot of impact but I'd say weak MVP level. He was a tier below Wilt, Russell, West and Kareem for instance.

How many peak centers would you consider over Reed?

Mikan
Russell
Wilt
Kareem
Walton
Moses
Hakeem
Robinson
Shaq
Jokic

So Reed starts being in the conversation around #11.

Embiid?
Dikembe?
Robert Parrish?
Mark Eaton?
Ben Wallace?
Dwight Howard?
Dave Cowens?
Bob Lanier?
Artis Gilmore?
Rik Smits?
Chris Webber?
MarcusCamby?
Jack Sikma?
Ralph Sampson?
Duncan was a center?
Dan Issel may not have been a center but he played center and scored a lot?
Patrick Ewing?
Nate Thurmand?
Walt Bellamy?
Shawn Kemp?
Rudy Golbert?
Wes Unseld?
Demarcus short peak Cousins?
Yao Ming?
Amare Stoudemire.

A few of those guys were probably better than Willis Reed.

Post #6 » by **penbeast0** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 1:49 am

SinceGatlingWasARookie wrote:
Djoker wrote:
70sFan wrote:How many peak centers would you consider over Reed?

Mikan
Russell
Wilt
Kareem
Walton
Moses
Hakeem
Robinson
Shaq
Jokic

So Reed starts being in the conversation around #11.

Embiid? Probably
Dikembe? Probably not
Robert Parrish? Probably not
Mark Eaton? No
Ben Wallace? No
Dwight Howard? Probably
Dave Cowens? Probably not though it's close
Bob Lanier? Maybe on longevity, Reed better player with his defense
Artis Gilmore? Probably
Rik Smits? No
Chris Webber? Probably not
MarcusCamby? No
Jack Sikma? Probably not
Ralph Samson? No
Duncan was a center? IF so, certainly better
Dan Issel may not have been a center but he played center and scored a lot? Poor defensive center so no though his longevity is impressive
Patrick Ewing? Yes
Nate Thurmand? Possibly, I'd say no at first take but could be convinced
Walt Bellamy? No
Shawn Kemp? No
Rudy Golbert? Probably
Wes Unseld? Probably Not, though longevity edge
Demarcus short peak Cousins? No
Yao Ming? Probably not
Amare Stoudemire. No (defense)

A few of those guys were probably better than Willis Reed.

A few is reasonable, I have 6 of them higher on a quick look.

SinceGatlingWasARookie · Post #7 » by **SinceGatlingWasARookie** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 2:12 am

penbeast0 wrote:
SinceGatlingWasARookie wrote:
Djoker wrote:
Mikan
Russell
Wilt
Kareem
Walton
Moses
Hakeem
Robinson
Shaq
Jokic

So Reed starts being in the conversation around #11.

Embiid? Probably
Dikembe? Probably not
Robert Parrish? Probably not
Mark Eaton? No
Ben Wallace? No
Dwight Howard? Probably
Dave Cowens? Probably not though it's close
Bob Lanier? Maybe on longevity, Reed better player with his defense
Artis Gilmore? Probably
Rik Smits? No
Chris Webber? Probably not
MarcusCamby? No
Jack Sikma? Probably not
Ralph Samson? No
Duncan was a center? IF so, certainly better
Dan Issel may not have been a center but he played center and scored a lot? Poor defensive center so no though his longevity is impressive
Patrick Ewing? Yes
Nate Thurmand? Possibly, I'd say no at first take but could be convinced
Walt Bellamy? No
Shawn Kemp? No
Rudy Golbert? Probably
Wes Unseld? Probably Not, though longevity edge
Demarcus short peak Cousins? No
Yao Ming? Probably not
Amare Stoudemire. No (defense)

A few of those guys were probably better than Willis Reed.

A few is reasonable, I have 6 of them higher on a quick look.

OP seemed to be wanting peaks not longevity.

Willis Reed has drama in his favor. Coming back from injury in the finals was dramatic but shoul drama count?
Knicks Lakers was dramatic.

Reed was a better scorer than Ben Wallace otherwise I would take Ben Wallace over him.

Reed was not big but he was strong. I don’t think Reed was anything special as a shot blocker.
Reed may have had great intangibles but I hate counting intangibles even for Bill Russell.

I am definitely taking Robert Parish over Reed even if I count the players relative to their era. Parrish gave me everything I wanted in a center. Reed shot better long to mid range. Parish did hit mid range. I may overvalue shot blocking and I think Parrish was the better shot blocker.

Post #8 » by **penbeast0** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 4:20 am

Defense only, Ben Wallace and Nate Thurmond move up quite a bit.

Reed v. Parish. I tend to value court awareness on both sides and passing skills on offense. Reed does those things better than Parish with still very good defense though, as you say, Parish is the better rim protector. Parish has longevity; generally I look for about 8 prime seasons and don't value the good but not great seasons post and pre prime as much as some posters.

One_and_Done · Post #9 » by **One_and_Done** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 7:37 pm

Overrated at the time since Frazier was far better, and would be even less impactful today. Not even an all-star today.

70sFan · Post #10 » by **70sFan** » Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:49 pm

One_and_Done wrote:Overrated at the time since Frazier was far better, and would be even less impactful today. Not even an all-star today.

Could you remind me which games you have watched to come to that conclusion?

Colbinii · Post #11 » by **Colbinii** » Fri Mar 1, 2024 3:06 am

I would place him behind the 10 mentioned plus Embiid/Gobert/Ewing/Duncan/Howard/Gilmore with Cowens/Thurmond/Parish as right below. Basically all these guys minus Embiid/Duncan on the same rough tier.

One_and_Done · Post #12 » by **One_and_Done** » Fri Mar 1, 2024 8:03 am

Dwight would eat Reed alive.

SportsGuru08 · Post #13 » by **SportsGuru08** » Sat Mar 2, 2024 2:31 am

One_and_Done wrote:Dwight would eat Reed alive.

Reed on one good leg clamped Chamberlain in Game 7; Wilt did most of his damage after the Lakers were far behind.

Dwight has no offensive game outside of dunks. Pau Gasol made him look mediocre.

One_and_Done · Post #14 » by **One_and_Done** » Sat Mar 2, 2024 2:43 am

Pau would clap Reed too.

Cavsfansince84 · Post #15 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Sat Mar 2, 2024 3:12 am

I feel like the question with Reed is where would we rank him if he'd had a solid 8 year prime then maybe a few more seasons at around all star level or below. Same amount of rings I think he'd generally be seen as top 30 all time. Ahead of Ewing almost for sure and maybe even as high as top 20.