In the 1980s, the Boston Celtics made five trips to the NBA Finals. Two of Boston’s three titles that decade came against the Houston Rockets, despite the fact that most fans still associate the team with their fierce rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Robert Reid faced the Celtics in the NBA Finals in both 1981 and 1986. Known for his aggressive defense, Reid demonstrated his ability to shoot the ball, finishing the 1980–81 season with a career-high 15.9 point average. Reid battled cancer and passed away on Monday, February 19, at his Houston home. He was sixty-eight.
Robert Reid Made Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics’ Lives Difficult
In 1980–81, the Celtics went to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In a one-sided trade with the Golden State Warriors, the Celtics strengthened their roster one year after Larry Bird was named Rookie of the Year by adding Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. Boston’s Big Three earned their first championship in their inaugural season together.
The Rockets, under the direction of center Moses Malone, brought intrigue to the series by winning Game 2 92-90 after traveling to Boston. In order to send the series back to Boston knotted at two games apiece, the teams split the following two games in Houston.
Bird was limited to eight points each game in those two Houston matchups. Under Reid’s constant guard, Bird shot only 3-for-11 from the field in both contests. While the majority of NBA fans attributed Reid’s stingy defense to him, Bird defied the grain in a Larry Bird-like manner.
In his book “Drive: The Story of My Life,” Bird stated, “Robert is a good defensive player, but he’s no Michael Cooper.” “I didn’t know why there was so much commotion. I felt I was playing good basketball, even though I couldn’t make a shot. I was having 21 rebounds in each of the first two games, and I was also playing excellent defense and passing the ball efficiently. Since then, no forward has performed anything comparable.
Game 1 ended in a 98-95 loss for the Rockets, with Reid scoring the most points: 27.
Magic Johnson Called Reid One of the Best Defensive Players Ever
Reid also played for the outclassed Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals against the Celtics. Following the Rockets’ defeats in their opening two games in Boston, the 6-foot-8 Reid led his team in assists with nine and scored twenty points in Game 3 of Houston’s 106-104 victory.
Reid finished Game 5 with a resounding 111-96 victory over Houston, sending the series back to Boston with his team down 3-2. Reid also finished with 13 points and 17 assists.
Boston won the final six games of the series.
Reid was renowned for being a wonderful guy despite his remarkable stats and defensive shutouts. In addition to praising his defensive abilities, Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers said that he was a “great person.”
Johnson wrote on X, “I’m deeply saddened by the news that my friend Robert Reid passed away today.” “Robert was among the league’s best defensive players ever and a fierce competitor for the Houston Rockets!” Over the years, we had numerous meals together, and he was always a gracious host when I visited Houston.
“This is a difficult loss for his family, our NBA family, and guys like me, who were his friends. He was a great guy.” During this trying time, Cookie and I are praying for the Reid family as a whole, as well as for friends and the NBA family.
