For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA champions, claiming the Larry O’Brien trophy after beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
The last time the Knicks called themselves champions, they had a distinct HBCU flavor on their roster, with three of the most prominent players in our lore contributing to the team’s success.
The most prominent being Grambling State alum Willis Reed, who reigned as one of the NBA’s top players in the late ’60s and early 70s.
Being drafted to the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1964 NBA Draft, Reed started his career hot, being named Rookie of the Year and making the All-Star team in each of his first seven seasons.
During that span, Reed averaged 20.1 points on 48% shooting and 13.8 rebounds, including in 1967 when he helped the Knicks snap an eight-year playoff drought.
Willis Reed led Knicks to memorable championship
His best season came in 1970 when he became the first, and to date only, HBCU player to ever win league MVP, narrowly beating Lakers legend Jerry West for the award.
Reed’s magical 1970 season also included winning the All-Star MVP and leading the Knicks to their first NBA championship in franchise history in a mythical Game 7 performance.
Dealing with a torn thigh muscle that forced him to miss Game 6, Reed unexpectedly returned to the court for Game 7, producing two big buckets at the start of the game that helped power the Knicks to an 113-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was named Finals MVP, becoming the first player in NBA history to win the regular season MVP, All-Star MVP and Finals MVP in the same season.
By the time the 1973 season rolled around, Reed was plagued by injuries, missing the majority of the 1972 campaign during which the Knicks lost in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In what was his final season playing at relative full health, the former MVP helped lead the Knicks to a 57-25 record, advancing to the NBA Finals where they once again beat the Lakers in five games to claim their second championship in three years.
Reed was named NBA Finals MVP after averaging 16.4 points on 49% shooting and 9.2 rebounds during the series.
Dick Barnett was a rock on Knicks title team
Another member of the Knicks’ championship teams was Tennessee State’s Dick Barnett, who took a much longer road to the big stage.
Barnett entered the NBA as the fifth overall pick in the 1959 NBA Draft by the Syracuse Nationals (now Philadelphia 76ers). After spending his first two years with the team, he spent a year playing with the Cleveland Pipers in the American Basketball League before returning to the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1962.
In his first season with the Lakers, he averaged 18.0 points per game, helping the team reach the NBA Finals for his first career appearance.
After three seasons with the Lakers, including another NBA Finals berth in 1965, Barnett was traded to the Knicks, where he would spend the final nine years of his career.
His tenure in New York got off to a hot start, putting up a career-high 23.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. Two years later, he was selected to his lone All-Star Game.
Barnett was a primary contributor to the Knicks’ 1970 championship, averaging 18.6 points and 4.3 assists during the series, including a 21-point performance in the title-clincher.
Like Reed, the 1973 season came during the back stretch of his career, when the Tennessee State alum played sparingly before retiring the following year.
Earl “The Pearl” became a legend in New York
Finally, there’s Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, whose NBA journey began in a starring role in Charm City.
The Winston-Salem State standout was selected second overall by the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards), making him the highest drafted HBCU player in NBA history.
Monroe joined Reed as the only HBCU player to win the Rookie of the Year award, leading the Bullets in scoring (24.3) and assists (4.3), adding 5.7 rebounds per game.
Over the next three years, he helped elevate the Bullets to championship contention as a two-time All-Star, leading the team to its first NBA Finals appearance in 1971.
The following year, Monroe would be traded to the Knicks midway through the season, helping the team reach the Finals in a sixth-man role.
In 1973, the WSSU alum was elevated into the starting lineup in his first full season with the team. He averaged 16.1 points in the Knicks’ championship run, including a series-high 23 points to clinch the title.
Monroe continued to play at a high level for the remainder of the 1970s, being selected to a pair of All-Star teams before retiring in 1980.
New York Knicks history, before and since their initial two championship runs, is synonymous with HBCU stars who gave their hearts and souls to the city, cementing their place among the most beloved players in franchise history.
Names such as Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton (Xavier University of Louisiana), Charles Oakley (Virginia Union), Kyle O’Quinn (Norfolk State), Anthony Mason, and Truck Robinson (Tennessee State) went through the highs and lows with the Knicks, defining their respective eras that helped lay the foundation for the team’s success today.
