Walt Frazier - With his Rolls Royce car, flamboyant wardrobe that featured knee-length fur coats, and stylish fedora hats, Walt Frazier was the toast of New York City as a member of the Knicks from 1967 to 1977. On the court, Frazier was "super cool." His quick hands on defense combined with his calm, cool and collected demeanor on the court, earned him the nickname "Clyde."
The cornerstone of Knick teams for a decade, Frazier first caught the attention of pro scouts while playing at Southern Illinois University. A Division II All-America in 1964 and 1965 and a Division I All-America in 1967, Frazier led the Salukis to the 1967 NIT championship and was named Tournament MVP. Frazier was the first-round choice of the Knicks in the 1967 NBA draft, and earned NBA All-Rookie honors. Frazier's smooth play electrified crowds at Madison Square Garden. His offensive repertoire was a blend of smooth drives to the bucket and mid-range jump shots that burned opponents for 15,581 points (18.9 ppg) during his career. Even with an All-Star cast, Frazier led the Knicks in scoring five times. An adept passer, Frazier dished out 5,040 assists during his career (6.1 apg) and led the Knicks in assists 10 straight years. Many of those passes were directed to fellow Hall of Famers Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. Frazier, Reed, Bradley and DeBusschere copped the 1970 NBA title, and with the addition of Lucas and Monroe, the Knicks repeated in 1973.
Always the focal point of New York's offensive and defensive schemes, "Clyde" was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team seven times (1969-75), selected to seven NBA All-Star Games (1970-76, MVP in the 1975 game). After 10 years with the Knicks and parts of three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Frazier retired in 1979. A clutch performer, Frazier averaged 20.7 points in 93 playoff games.
