Walt Frazier is still a New York Knicks patriarch

SAN ANTONIO — Walt “Clyde” Frazier proudly held both fists out, displaying a ring on each hand. The one on his left was for being named one of the Top 50 NBA players of all-time in 1996. On the right hand, the New York Knicks legend wore a ring from the 1973 NBA championship, the last title the Knicks won.

“I wear them every day. Feel naked without them,” Frazier told Andscape before the Knicks’ Game 4 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to the 2026 NBA Finals.

Frazier starred on the Knicks’ two NBA championship teams in 1970 and 1973. Today’s Knicks are back in the Finals after a 27-year wait, playing the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 tonight in San Antonio.

Frazier said the fan frenzy for the Knicks is grander now than it was in 1973 because of social media and the NBA’s global reach. The NBA announced a record 135 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents on opening-night rosters for the 2025-26 season.

The league said it generated 228 billion total social media views in the regular season, and Game 7 of the 2026 Western Conference finals peaked at more than 2 billion views across social media. While the NBA Finals can now be watched globally on TVs, cellphones and computers, Americans watched the 1973 NBA Finals solely on TV on ABC, with games in Los Angeles starting at 10:30 p.m. EST, according to Sports Business Journal.

“This is crazier now. When we played, there was no social media,” Frazier said. “There wasn’t any foreign players. Now, you have Hispanic fans. All different nationalities. China. It’s an international sport now. But [the Knicks fan] hoopla is uncanny. And you see it when we go on the road. They just take over places. They are unequivocally the No. 1 fan. …

“For the [Knicks] fans, they deserve it for the respect they give. I’ve been an ambassador for 50 years. That’s how long it’s been since our last title. They’re going to need the National Guard in New York if they win. They’re going to light our city up.”

The Knicks, who beat the Lakers 4-1 in the 1973 NBA Finals for their most recent championship, have the fifth-longest title drought in the NBA behind the Sacramento Kings (1951), Atlanta Hawks (1958), Phoenix Suns (founded in 1968, no titles) and Los Angeles Clippers (founded in 1970, no titles).

Frazier said today’s Knicks remind him of the 1973 squad.

“In 1973, we were injured most of the season,” Frazier said. “But coming towards the playoffs, we started to get healthy. It reminds me of what these Knicks are doing now in the last 10 games. That is the way we were playing. Everybody was moving and grooving. Dishing and swishing. Our thing was always defense. Tenacious defense. …

“Right now, people are comparing [today’s Knicks] to us. They are a little overzealous. When we were with [coach] Red Holzman, you know what he’d tell us now? ‘Clyde, we have won nothing. You got to keep going.’ That is what it is.”

Frazier was selected fifth overall by the Knicks in the 1967 NBA draft after starring at Southern Illinois. The 6-foot-4 guard played with the Knicks from 1967-77 and averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game during his tenure. He still holds the franchise record in assists (4,791) and is second in games played (759) behind Patrick Ewing. Frazier’s two championships, his 1975 NBA All-Star Game MVP award, his six All-NBA team selections and seven All-NBA defensive first-team selections all came with the Knicks.

Frazier was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 and was selected to the NBA Top 50 and NBA 75th Anniversary teams. After playing for the Cavaliers from 1977-79, he retired and served as an NBA analyst for TBS in 1981, broadcasting Hawks games in his hometown of Atlanta. Frazier began his broadcasting career at the Knicks-owned MSG Network in 1987, first in radio and then on TV.

“My legacy with the franchise? I love it. I was always there sharing and caring. Teaching. Trying to give back. But my love has been with the fans. I’ve had a loving relationship since I came in and it’s still there. I am the patriarch unequivocally. I’m the guy on top. That is what [the players] are trying to get to. But also [my former Knicks teammates] Earl [Monroe] and [Bill] Bradley, they are still around, too.

“Kids want to be like Walt Frazier. They wear my jersey. They made me the first guy to endorse a sneaker. I’ve written like eight books. So, [Knicks fans] have always been there for me. I’m sure a lot of it is I was in New York, the mecca for everything. But the main thing is winning. You got to win. Not just win, but get some rings. [These Knicks] got to at least get one ring.”

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