Walt Frazier

Game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals will always be remembered for the New York Knicks' Willis Reed limping onto the court. However, had it not been for Walt Frazier, the Knicks' flashy little guard, it would've been a different story. Frazier put up 36 points and 19 assists to lead the Knicks to victory.

Frazier was born on March 29, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up, Frazier loved to play sports, and was always the leader. In baseball, he played catcher, in football, he was the quarterback, and in basketball, he was the point guard. He was an excellent high school quarterback, and also an excellent basketball player. He received many offers from colleges to play football, but instead chose to play basketball at Southern Illinois.

There he was coached by Jack Hartman, a defensive-minded coach. Under Hartman, he polished the defensive skills that would make him so famous later on. His junior year, he led his team to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), where he was named the tournament's MVP. It was there that Red Holzman, who would later coach Frazier, first saw him play.

Walt was selected sixth overall by the Knicks in the 1967 draft, signing for a $25,000 contract with a $25,000 signing bonus. Compared to today's contracts, that's petty cash.

Walt was known for his flashy, expensive clothes, and of course his Rolls Royce. Walt's style reminded Knick trainer Danny Whelan of the robber Clyde Barrow of Bonnie & Clyde. He began to refer to Frazier as "Clyde", and the name stuck.

In his ten years with the Knicks, Frazier won two championships. After spending part of his final three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he decided to call it quits. When he retired in 1979, he was the Knicks career leader in points, games played, and assists. This seven-time NBA All-Star was named to the NBA Top 50 players, had his jersey retired, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Walt will always be remembered for his unique style, and playmaking abilities, but especially for his defense. "Clyde," states Bill Hoskett, "could strip a car while it's going 40 miles an hour."

"He can take the sugar out of a cake without disturbing a crumb of the cake," exclaimed Knicks captain Willis Reed.

The person who best sums up Clyde's abilities is Bill Bradley, a longtime teammate. "It's not only that Clyde steals the ball, but that he makes them think he's about to steal it, and that he can steal it anytime he wants to. Frazier is the only player I've seen whom I would describe as an artist, who takes an artistic approach to the game."

Season	Team	G	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	REB	AST	PTS	APG	PPG
67-68	Knicks	74	256	568	.451	154	235	.655	313	305	666	4.1	9.0
68-69	Knicks	80	531	1052	.505	341	457	.746	499	635	1403	7.9	17.5
69-70	Knicks	77	600	1158	.518	409	547	.748	465	629	1609	8.2	20.9
70-71	Knicks	80	651	1317	.494	434	557	.779	544	536	1736	6.7	21.7
71-72	Knicks	77	669	1307	.512	450	557	.808	513	446	1788	5.8	23.2
72-73	Knicks	78	681	1389	.490	286	350	.817	570	461	1648	5.9	21.1
73-74	Knicks	80	674	1429	.472	295	352	.838	536	551	1643	6.9	20.5
74-75	Knicks	78	672	1391	.483	331	400	.828	465	474	1675	6.1	21.5
75-76	Knicks	59	470	969	.485	186	226	.823	400	351	1126	5.9	19.1
76-77	Knicks	76	532	1089	.489	259	336	.771	293	403	1323	5.3	17.4
77-78	Cleveland	51	336	714	.471	153	180	.850	209	209	825	4.1	16.2
78-79	Cleveland	12	54	122	.443	21	27	.778	20	32	129	2.7	10.8
79-80	Cleveland	3	4	11	.364	2	2	1.00	3	8	10	2.7	3.3
TOTALS		825	6130	12516	.490	3321	4226	.786	4830	5040	15581	6.1	18.9