Walt 'Clyde' Frazier is regarded as one of the greatest Knicks of all time. Named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team in 2021, Frazier has been tied to the franchise for nearly six decades, first as a player and now entering his 40th season as a broadcaster.
Frazier is teaming up with AT&T to tip off the 2026-27 NBA season. The two-time Hall of Famer will take a taxi through Manhattan, hand out NBA merchandise and surprise fans. He spoke exclusively with HoopsHype about the Knicks' title last season, how it compares to his two championships and how he was initially mad when Willis Reed got all the attention for walking out of the tunnel, fashion, and more.
So this will be your 40th year calling Knicks games. When you started, did you ever picture doing this for almost four decades?
Walt Frazier: I never thought I'd be in sports casting, and maybe coaching. So it was serendipitous that I got into it, but I love my job. I can't believe my good fortune now that I've not only seen three Knicks championships in my life, and still relevant with the team. And again, now in the world's most famous arena, the greatest city, the best fans, and now giving back to the community as well, working with AT&T.
You’ve watched the Knicks up close for decades; what was it like to see the city win the title and unite like this?
WF: I was overwhelmed. I've never seen the city so galvanized. I know basketball is the city game, but to see what the Knicks were able to do in bringing people together, still, the city is still relishing in what they've accomplished. Wherever I go, people are congratulating me. They're smiling. So it's been a phenomenal thing what they've been able to do by winning the championship this season.
How was this title compared to the two you won as a player?
WF: No comparison. When I played, most of the fans were black and white. Now basketball is an international sport. Red, yellow, black, and white follow the game. It's an international sport. When I played, everybody was from the USA, now you have 140 players from 40 different nations throughout the world.
So it's a phenomenal thing now to watch the games in China, Africa, Asia, Europe, throughout the world. So the NBA is very popular. AT&T is very proud to be representing that connectivity and bringing everybody together. So Spike Lee and I are really honored to work with them and commemorate the Knicks' championship season and going into this new season as well, hoping that the Knicks can run it back and win a back-to-back title.
When you last won a title in 1973, did you ever think it would take this long for the Knicks to win one again?
WF: No, you never think about that. When you're there, you think you're going to keep winning.
So check this out. We won in 1970. We lost the next year, but the next three years, we were there. We had a chance to win.
So you always think that way. And then when they had [Pat] Riley and [Patrick] Ewing and those guys, I thought, hey, man, we're going to win a championship under the auspices of Riley and Patrick and John Starks. They had their chance in '94. They squandered that, and we never got back until now, so that's why it's very important to capitalize whenever you're there. You got to take advantage because you never know when you might get back.
Bringing it back to 1970, the NBA Finals Game 7, where you had 36 points and 19 assists, it's been described as one of the best Game 7s ever. What was that night like for you?
WF: Like it is now. The hoopla, the pageantry was there. The celebration and there's nothing like it first. That was the Knicks’ first title, so they suffered for so long, and now after 53 years our suffering is over again. So it's very complimentary and reminiscent of that first title. The whole celebration of the city is continuing.
Everyone remembers Willis Reed coming out of the tunnel in that Game 7. Does it bother or amuse you that your performance gets overshadowed by that?
WF: Well, yeah, I was pissed at the time. You know, I was 25 years old, and I was trying to get on par with Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. They were considered the best players in the game.
But if Willis Reed didn't do what he did, I would not have had that game. Seeing Willis Reed on the court gave me so much confidence. And then the crowd got involved.
And from that, they made me think that I could do anything. And that's why I had that particular game. So I never held a grudge against Willis.
You know, he did nothing. I mean, again, I know that if he didn't come out and show the courage that he did, I would not have had my best game ever.
You’ve said losing the playoffs for local TV would be devastating. Then the Knicks won it all the first year you couldn’t call it. What was it like watching the run without a mic?
WF: It's frustrating. You follow a team all year, and now the biggest part of the season, you can't follow them.
But kudos to the Knicks; they approached me and said, 'Hey, Clyde, we want you to still follow the team.' I said, okay, I'll be at home games. They go, no, we want you to go on the road, too. I said, on the road? They go, yeah, we want the guys to see you around. So I was able to watch all 19 games.
And the Knicks are a family now. That's the way they played on the court. So not only myself, I was with Allan Houston. I was with John Starks. I was with the great Patrick Ewing. So, we relished our time yelling, screaming, you know, propelling the Knicks to another title.
How did you start developing your trademark of rhyming big vocabulary words throughout your broadcasting career?
WF: My rhyming started because I started on radio, and the guy that I was working with didn't give me a lot of chances to articulate so if the Knicks were doing something I had to get in and out, and I would say they're dishing and swishing, they're bounding and sounding. You know, so it was kind of a way of amusing myself, but also educating the fans about what was going on. Obviously, I know the game, but to articulate it the way that I was doing, it's sort of like rap.
Some people say, oh, man, this guy's doing the game like rap. But I love the education aspect of it because with the Knicks, we often work with the Garden of Dreams, trying to help kids fulfill their dreams. So education is a big part of what we're preaching to them in order to attain success.
When you first did rhymes, were fans coming up to you and telling you they liked it, and when did you decide to make it part of your broadcasting persona? How did this latch on and become part of your brand?
WF: Great question, man. When I first started doing it, I was criticized. People told me I didn't know the game. Even the Knicks people told me, stop rhyming. They were protesting to stop rhyming. You don't know the game, but I didn't realize I was rhyming.
This is the way I studied for the game, and there was nothing I could do. Because when I started talking, like if I'm talking to you, I'll be saying something like dishing and switching. [Chuckles] I don't know when it's coming out.
You know, they're bounding and astounding. So, yeah, in the beginning, I was criticized, but I was saying, if I'm going to get fired, I'm going to get fired doing it my way and not what people are telling me, which is very important because you have to have confidence. That's the key to success.
So, again, when we talk with the kids, man, if you don't believe in yourself, who's going to believe in you? So you've got to believe in yourself and what you're doing. Like being Clyde, the first time I wore the Clyde hat, everybody laughed at me because it was a wide-brim hat and nobody was wearing that.
So I could have easily said, hey, I'm not wearing it, but I said, hey, man, I'm going to keep this hat on. And now 50 years later, I'm still Clyde because it's something I believed in.
So we tell the kids, don't be afraid to veer from the past and leave your own footprint. If there's something you want to do, man, stick with it. Believe in what you're doing.
You were the league’s original fashion icon. What do you make of today’s tunnel fits?
WF: [Laughs] I laugh because I'm the catalyst for that. I was the guy that started it with the Rolls Royce, the mink coat. First guy to endorse his sneaker.
So, you know, I'm proud of him carrying on that tradition. And basketball players are like models. They're tall and slim, so no matter what they put on, they're going to look good. So these guys are using that, and this is their brand. A lot of them, LeBron [James] and these guys, [Kevin] Garnett, you know, [Jalen] Brunson is starting, [Josh] Hart. So this has become their brand, their style that they're creating for themselves.
Do you miss when coaches had to wear suits to games?
WF: Yeah, I thought it was more professional. Like now I see guys not wearing ties. Obviously, I think it's more professional when you have talent and look better.
The guy's wearing sneakers now rather than shoes. So it's the evolution of fashion, but Red Holzman used to tell me, Clyde, you keep it long enough, it'll come back. So what goes around comes around. So the different styles will come back.
Do you feel like the NBA's in a good place right now?
WF: Yeah, yeah. Look at the salaries, man. I can't even relate to $50 million, $60 million.
But it's not only about the money, but I think the influence that they have throughout the world. I view basketball as an international sport now with guys from all over the world, the way they contribute to merchandising. So it's a phenomenal thing that the NBA is doing.
And don't forget about human rights, civil rights. The NBA is light years ahead of the other sports, with black management, coaches, general managers, women so they continue to make me proud in what they're doing on and off the court.
Can you speak to what you’re doing with AT&T for the season tip-off?
WF: Yeah, AT&T is an official connected partner of the NBA. So we have this hoopla and pageantry going on that we're doing starting the season with the fans. So they can come out and see some of their favorite players, meet them, and also receive prizes as well.
You’re doing this with Spike Lee. How far back does your relationship with Spike go?
WF: Well, Spike has been a fan since he was 13. He was at the game where I had 36 points, 19 assists. So he saw the Knicks first championship, and he's idolized me since that time.
And we've become good friends, obviously. He's in all the Knicks games, sitting in his celebrity row. So it was quite an honor to work with him and hooking up with AT&T and Spike Lee. So we'll be going around to a lot of different stores, meeting and greeting the fans, and giving out prizes as well.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Walt 'Clyde' Frazier Q&A: 'I've never seen New York City so galvanized'