NY Knicks: Who was the better center? Patrick Ewing or Willis Reed?

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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 17, 1973: Willis Reed, center for the New York Knicks, guards Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Center, of the Milwaukee Bucks, during an NBA basketball game in Madison Square Garden. During the game, Willis Reed scored 22 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 24 points. The New York Knicks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks by the score of 100 to 93. (Photo by Ross Lewis/Getty Images) /

Who was the better defensive player?

For those who remember a young Patrick Ewing, all arms and legs and barrel-chested like a giant spider out there playing for Georgetown, there was talk about the next Bill Russell coming up in the 1985 NBA Draft. Of course, Ewing never reached those heights, but the fact that people would even make that comparison is a testament to his devastating defensive talents. He was long and strong, comfortably 7-feet tall, and quick on his feet. A quick leaper too.

That was Georgetown Ewing, but things changed when injury trouble started. It was almost immediate, halfway through his rookie season was when he was first sidelined with knee trouble, and while he would still go on to make 3 all-defensive teams over the course of his career, the Bill Russell Russell comparisons were no longer appropriate.

He was still a great, of course. Multiple seasons averaging 3+ blocks a game, the all-defensive teams, being able to match freaks like Shaq and David Robinson physically, the injuries did not sap Ewings ability to be one of the best defenders in the league. However, they did take away the Giannis-esque, Wilt-esque, physicality he once had. He couldn’t glide as he did before.

As an NBA player, Patrick Ewing was one of the best defensive centers in the league, and if not for a pair of bad knees he could have been one the greatest of all time, but he wasn’t. It’s not his fault, but that’s the difference. He was great, but he should have been legendary.

Willis Reed has a very different defensive identity…

His sole All-Defensive Team selection in 1970 does not do justice to the presence that Willis was on the floor for the Knicks. Embodying the spirit of his city during the late 60s and early 70s, Willis was an enforcer’s enforcer. The anchor of a team that often featured a swath of legendary defensive players (Clyde Frazer, Dave Debusschere, etc).

When facing Wes Unseld (the reigning league MVP) in the first round of the 1970 playoffs, Willis held him to just 10 PPG in the series, as well as clamping Big Wes down to only 2-points in game 7. A month later Willis would battle Wilt Chamberlain in the finals. Wilt was averaging 27.3 a game on his first run with the Lakers. Reed held him to 23 a game in that series and matched him with 23 of his own.

Could Willis Reed do all the things Ewing could on the defensive end? No. But he was more important because the way he impacted the game wasn’t reliant on his athleticism. He would pull rebounds down against taller and bouncier guys because he knew how to get big, stick his butt out, and use the tools that he had to win the possession. The same can’t always be said for Ewing

This section is close, the stats are tricky to compare because of the different eras, we don’t have advanced analytics or anything, but we do have word of mouth. People talk about Willis the same way they talk about Rodman, Oakley, Draymond, Horace Grant, Ben Wallace, and every other enforcer whose impact on the game went beyond the box score. Ewing’s defensive dominance can be summed up in a box score. The tangibly great, intangibly flawed.

Winner: Willis Reed