Walt Frazier

Walter "Walt" Frazier Jr., born March 29, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia, is widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history and the defining player of the New York Knicks' two-championship dynasty of the early 1970s. Nicknamed "Clyde" — a reference to the stylish outlaw Clyde Barrow due to Frazier's flamboyant wardrobe — Walt was as cool under pressure as any player in the game's history. At Southern Illinois University, he developed the two-way engine that would drive New York's success: elite on-ball defense combined with smooth, efficient scoring. Selected fifth overall in the 1967 NBA Draft by the Knicks, Frazier quickly became the heartbeat of a team being built by coach Red Holzman. By his third season, he was the engine of one of the most complete and beautiful offensive systems the NBA had seen — the famous 1969-70 Knicks, who went 60-22 and claimed the franchise's first NBA Championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. Frazier delivered one of the finest Finals performances ever in Game 7, pouring in 36 points and 19 assists to clinch the title. He was named to seven NBA All-Star Games and made the All-NBA First Team four times. In the 1972-73 championship run, Frazier again proved indispensable alongside Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Earl Monroe. His defense — ranked among the elite at his position for a decade — earned him seven All-Defensive First Team selections, a record that stood for years. After a decade in New York, Frazier was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1977, where he played two final seasons before retiring. He later became a beloved broadcast analyst for the Knicks, known for his colorful, alliterative commentary style ("dishing and swishing," "moving and grooving") that made him as famous to a new generation as his playing days had to the first. The Knicks retired his #10 jersey in 1979.