Honoring 1969-70 World Champs a No-Brainer For Walsh
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So was his decision on who to honor this time around.
“A year ago, we really wanted to honor our past because we have a great past,” Walsh boasted. “So we brought in a lot of the legends that night and honored them individually. I think once you do that, the next step is to honor teams, and the team we chose definitely deserves it.”
That team is the 1969-70 World Champions, whose players and fans are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first title in franchise history.
“To be the first team to win a championship, that means everything to a franchise,” said Walsh. “You will never forget it as a person to accomplish that, and you will never forget it as an organization or as a fan who it was that accomplished that.”
During halftime of New York’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 22, that celebrated squad, including the likes of Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley amongst others, will march onto center court to be honored in front of what is sure to be a raucous Garden crowd. But those in the stands aren’t the only ones who will be thrilled and overjoyed to see their heroes once again grace the Mecca of Basketball. Walsh himself admits to being a big fan of this particular team.
“I was a coach at the time this team won and I followed them from a far,” he recalled. “They really became the standard on how to play the game. They were smart, they played together, they overcame whatever weaknesses they had with how they played and so to me, they really represented how the game should be played. They ended up beating teams that probably, talent wise, had more than they did, but they were so good as a team and also individually. When you have great individuals playing together as a team, then you have something special, and they had that.”
In addition to Reed, Frazier and Bradley, those individuals included Dave DeBusschere, Dick Barnett, Nate Bowman, Bill Hosket, Phil Jackson, Don May, Mike Riordan, Cazzie Russell, Dave Stallworth and John Warren.
“There were great moments that stand out individually like Willis coming out hurt and Clyde in game seven,” said Walsh. “But what I remember really is how they all played together and Red Holzman and the way he coached. The whole thing was great.”
The chance to honor the late great Knicks coach and all Holzman accomplished for the franchise is a personal privilege for Walsh.
“Red was a great guy and he was very good to me,” he said. “He was very humble. I met him when he was a scout for the Knicks and I was in North Carolina. He was a friend of Frank McGuire and he would come to practice and watch us and our team. And Frank you could tell had a true affection for him. Then when I got in the league, he was always a gracious guy to me. Even the years when he was winning a lot, he was always the same.”
Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that the caliber of team Holzman helped assemble is what Walsh is attempting to reassemble today four decades later. He is hoping that when his current squad meets these legendary heroes the principles instilled upon them by Holzman rubs off.
“The main thing I want them to see is how to play together and play as a team,” said Walsh. “I mean a true commitment in that and humility in each player that takes. When you are like that, that is saying I can’t win the game by itself. I think that understanding is a key thing in a basketball team. I want them to understand how great (that team was). It is not ‘Oh, this is a team that won a championship.’ It is when you win a championship; there is something very special about the experience.”
While Walsh is proud to honor the Knickerbocker past and tradition, he is equally pleased at how the fans are supporting today's team.
“The city has always embraced the game of basketball, particularly when it is played well,” he said. “I’ve been here almost two years, and I am amazed at the support we get for a team that is playing hard, but doesn’t have a good record. I don’t know of any other place in the country where you get this kind of support, and the people love the game. So if you are playing well, there is a different feeling in here.”
Walsh is clearly relishing the opportunity to watch the greatest fans in the world cheer on arguably the greatest team in franchise history.
“I think that there will be a combination of a lot of different types of people who will come out to celebrate it this year because there are many types of basketball fans, and you if you are a fan of the game, then you can appreciate what this team accomplished and how they did so. Anyone who understands the history, understands what that team was about or knows about that team, they will want to come out and honor them. And that is a special thing.”
It is not too late for you to be part of this momentous occasion, as limited seats are still on sale. Click here to purchase tickets.
