NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 6: Ray Felix #19 of the New York Knicks shoots during an NBA game against the Rochester Royals on December 6, 1955 at the Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Hy Peskin/Getty Images) (Set Number: X3361)
Ray Felix
Ray Felix was an absolute beast on the boards. Despite being a more slender big man, he racked in stats comparable to an Andre Drummond of modern day.
Felix averaged a double double in his first and fourth of his 6-season tenure with the Knicks, ultimately averaging 12 points and 9.1 rebounds in that time.
Playing as a pro straight through the 1950s, he was among the early big men to prove they could be nimble and agile enough to play basketball at a high level. Although blocks weren’t recorded yet, he was known for being a menacing rim protector.
While Felix played his prime years in New York, he, unfortunately, isn’t remembered for winning much with the Knicks, a reasonable outcome of playing in the pre-globalized professional basketball era in which the Boston Celtics won nearly every year.
So it is fitting that perhaps one of the uglier moments in his career was when he got into an altercation on the court with the famed Bill Russell, who knocked out Felix in front of a crowd of spectators with a punch to the head. He eventually would meet up with Russell again in the NBA Finals when Felix played for the Lakers in 1962.
Ultimately, Felix’s legacy is blurred by lack of supporting stats and frankly, lack of national fanfare for a struggling pre-NBA/ABA merger basketball era. He would go on to work for the NYC Parks Department and tragically died of a heart attack in 1991. The former No. 1 overall pick gave his best years to the Knicks and was a New Yorker through and through.
missed a final-second finger roll layup</a> in the Conference Semi-Finals Game 7 to the Indiana Pacers.</p>
<p>The heartbreak was plenty in the Ewing era, but in the end, he brought electricity to the Garden for 15 years, and hope each season that the glory could finally return to the mecca of basketball.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2019/02/28/15-greatest-bigs-new-york-knicks-history/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Willis Reed </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Willis Reed</h3>
<p>Perhaps no image is more significant than that of Willis Reed hobbling out of the tunnel in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, fighting through the excruciating pain of a right thigh muscle tear in order to provide his teammates with the emotional boost to go on to capture the title.</p>
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<p>Although he only played the first few minutes, it was enough to get in the heads of the opposing Wilt Chamberlain-led Lakers and to spark an awe-inspiring 36 point and 19 assist performance from the legend Walt Frazier.</p>
<p>A life-long Knick, Willis Reed played his way into All-Star selections for the first seven of his ten seasons of professional basketball. In that decade, he averaged a ridiculous 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds.</p>
<p>Blocks only began being recorded in his final season, in 1973-74, but even then in his decline, he averaged 1.1 blocks per game and .6 steals per contest in just 19 games that he managed to play.</p>
<p>Willis Reed was the inspiration that brought the Knicks their first, second and only titles as one of the most storied franchises in NBA history. Few are able to come to New York and continue to play at such a high level, the lights are just too bright.</p>
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<p>Willis Reed did it in the most honorable fashion, putting his body on the line which ultimately no doubt impacted his longevity on the court.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">