Presented here is a PSA-slabbed ticket stub from one of the most epic NBA Finals games in history, and the New York Knicks’ first NBA title. This ticket is from Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, a game in which the Knicks emerged victorious over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The stub itself is graded Fair 1.5 by PSA. Of the eight total stubs (a full has yet to surface) authenticated in PSA's population report, there are just three graded higher and two of those are PSA GD 2 with qualifers, meaning only the PSA VG-EX 4 with a qualifier is technically a superior grade. The PSA slab notes that this Game 7, along with being the first Knicks championship, was the "Willis Reed Game." Reed, the 1969-70 regular season MVP, was forced to sit out Game 6 after suffering a torn thigh muscle in Game 5. He decided to give it a go in Game 7, receiving painkiller injections and limping to the court during warmups. When the Madison Square Garden court saw Reed on the court, they simply went berserk.
Although it is remembered as the "Wills Reed Game", Knick Walt "Clyde" Frazier contributed a mind-bending 36 points and 19 assists in the game, one of the gaudiest stat lines in NBA Finals Game 7 history.
Reed’s stat line is not what would be remembered, but rather the absolute spark that he provided his teammates en route to the decisive 113-99 Knicks win. In 2010, ESPN named this thrilling contest the greatest Game 7 in NBA Finals history.