Mid-October back in '66

robeiae

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http://deadspin.com/video-finally-surfaces-of-willis-reed-fighting-the-enti-1649175530

HBO's latest 30 for 30 documentary (an excellent series, imo) is about the Knicks of 1970. But the piece also reveals some "lost" footage from 1966. Specifically, footage of Willis Reed (Knick) and Rudy LaRusso (Laker) going toe to toe and precipitating an on-court brawl. And when I say "brawl," I mean Willis Reed beating the snot out of everyone who comes close to him.

Watch the video in the above link.

What's really interesting here--apart from how the footage has been buried for decades--to me are the consequences of this fight. It set up and fueled a rivalry, it is true, but more importantly Reed and LaRusso were harshly penalized for their behavior, harshly and without mercy, by the NBA...

Each player was fined $50.
 

rugcat

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Hey, 50 bucks was a lot of money back then.

Also, the median salary for NBA players in 1966 was $20,000. $50 was .25% of 20,000.

The median NBA today is 2.3 million.

.25% of 2.3 million is about $5700.