Willis Reed vs. Melvin Sanders Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Melvin Sanders and Willis Reed, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Willis Reed played 10 years in the NBA, 9 more than Melvin Sanders, who played 1. Willis Reed had the first of his seasons in 1964-65, while Melvin Sanders had his rookie season in 2005-06. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Willis Reed 10 7 1964-65 to 1973-74
Melvin Sanders 1 0 2005-06

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Rookie Season

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1964-652005-06
Team New York KnicksSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 80 38.0 19.5 - - 14.7 1.7 - - - 4.2 7.9 18.2 .432 - - - 3.8 5.1 .742
Melvin Sanders 16 7.1 2.6 0.3 1.2 1.4 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.5 1.3 1.0 2.1 .485 0.1 0.2 .667 0.4 0.6 .700
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed ------- --- ----------
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1965-66-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 76 33.4 15.5 - - 11.6 1.2 - - - 4.3 5.8 13.3 .434 - - - 4.0 5.3 .757
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed ------- --- ----------
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1966-67-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Div Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 78 36.2 20.9 - - 14.6 1.6 - - - 3.8 8.1 16.6 .489 - - - 4.6 6.2 .735
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 4 37.0 27.5 - - 13.8 1.8 - - - 4.8 10.8 20.0 .538 - - - 6.0 6.3 .960
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1967-68-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Div Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 81 35.5 20.8 - - 13.2 2.0 - - - 4.2 8.1 16.6 .490 - - - 4.5 6.3 .721
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 6 35.0 21.3 - - 10.3 1.8 - - - 4.0 8.8 16.3 .541 - - - 3.7 5.0 .733
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1968-69-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Div Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 82 37.9 21.1 - - 14.5 2.3 - - - 3.8 8.6 16.5 .521 - - - 4.0 5.3 .747
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 10 42.9 25.7 - - 14.1 1.9 - - - 4.0 10.1 19.8 .510 - - - 5.5 7.0 .786
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1969-70-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 81 38.1 21.7 - - 13.9 2.0 - - - 3.5 8.7 17.1 .507 - - - 4.3 5.7 .756
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 18 40.7 23.7 - - 13.8 2.8 - - - 3.3 9.9 21.0 .471 - - - 3.9 5.3 .737
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1970-71-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 73 39.1 20.9 - - 13.7 2.0 - - - 3.1 8.4 18.2 .462 - - - 4.1 5.2 .785
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 12 42.0 15.7 - - 12.0 2.3 - - - 3.4 6.8 16.3 .413 - - - 2.2 3.3 .667
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1971-72-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 11 33.0 13.4 - - 8.7 2.0 - - - 2.7 5.5 12.5 .438 - - - 2.5 3.5 .692
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed ------- --- ----------
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1972-73-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 69 27.2 11.0 - - 8.6 1.8 - - - 3.0 4.8 10.2 .474 - - - 1.3 1.8 .742
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 17 28.6 12.5 - - 7.6 1.8 - - - 3.8 5.7 12.2 .466 - - - 1.1 1.2 .857
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Willis Reed Melvin Sanders
Season 1973-74-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 19 26.3 11.1 2.5 4.9 7.4 1.6 0.6 1.1 - 2.6 4.4 9.7 .457 - - - 2.2 2.8 .792
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Willis Reed 11 12.0 3.4 0.4 1.6 2.0 0.4 0.2 0.0 - 2.4 1.5 4.1 .378 - - - 0.3 0.5 .600
Melvin Sanders ------- --- ----------