EXCLUSIVE: Knicks Legend Walt 'Clyde' Frazier Talks Future
NEW YORK-Just how much longer does Walt Frazier plan to be "stylin' and profilin'" his way to Madison Square Garden's broadcast table?
If it were up to 'Clyde' himself, his reign on the World's Most Famous Arena's eponymous network calling New York Knicks games would never end.
Frazier spoke to All Knicks on the Tribeca Film Festival's red carpet for the premiere of "Rolling Along," the one-man show starring his former teammate Bill Bradley. While he'll continue to occasionally step away during extended road trips, the 78-year-old intends to continue to call Knicks games alongside play-by-play man Mike Breen.
"I'm going do it as long as I can," the 78-year-old Frazier said of the analyst role he has held since 1998. "I'll probably get off the road, cut back on road games (but) I'll do more home games. I still like mingling with the fans, signing autographs, talking to the kids, doing basketball camps. I'm in my element!"
Dan Farrell/Getty Images
Frazier's union with Breen, a metropolitan mainstay on MSG Network since granted the full-time mikes during the 2004-05 season, has constantly been lauded as one of the best local broadcast pairings in the NBA. Some fans have even called for Frazier to join Breen for his national duties on ABC/ESPN, as a thread on Reddit suggested they be reunited for the NBA Finals (a hypothetical scenario Frazier said he'd "love to do.")
The pair has also been a calming, grounded, entertaining prescience in the wake of the hardwood horrors the Knicks have routinely produced in the new century, though New York bucked that trend this year to the tune of their most lucrative season in a decade.
Brandishing his two rings from 1970 and 1973's championship treks, Frazier said that the current Knicks group headlined by Brunson carries some traits of his title teams despite their five-decade distance.
"They love each other," Frazier observed. "The camaraderie there, we still have it after 50 years. We're still bonding. We lost the captain, Willis Reed, that was a big blow to us, but every Christmas we Zoom talks to each other, to see guys like Phil Jackson, Jerry Lucas. I see this Knicks team in a similar scenario."
As if to highlight that continued camaraderie, Frazier was one of several former Knicks on hand for Bradley's big moment, joined by Dick Barnett and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe.
Frazier had the highest compliments for current head coach Tom Thibodeau, comparing him to the late Red Holzman for the way he conducts his team and his defensive styles.
"Their coach is like Red Holzman: defensive-oriented, no prima donnas on the team," Frazier said. "Thibs reminds me a lot of Red the way he coaches on defense."
Even with his plans to keep the MSG microphone for the foreseeable future, Frazier is intrigued by the broadcasting potential of those he covers. Brunson agreed with Breen's recent assertion that Brunson would be equally comfortable on the air as he is on the floor, but also praised Josh Hart for his "personality" while calling Immanuel Quickley "subtle but stylish."
If anyone remotely involved in the Knicks' organization has earned a vacation, it's undoubtedly Frazier, who continues to rank at or near the top of the team's statistical ledgers. But he returned from the Virgin Islands in support of Bradley, his teammate-turned-United States senator. Bradley took his story to the big screen at Tribeca, adapting his one-man show to the big screen with the assistance of name-brand talents in the film industry such as Spike Lee, Frank Oz, and Mike Tollin.
Even though Frazier would undoubtedly generate one of the more electric stories in a similar endeavor, expect him to keep his entertainment value on the small screen, saying he'd be slightly "intimidated" by such a prospect.
He was shocked enough that Bradley, a relatively reserved voice in the cast of characters that was 1970s Knicks basketball, took the plunge himself, but was pleased to see that he did so.
"I'm shocked that Billy's doing it. He was so quiet. When they told me he was doing a one-man show, I was like 'A one-man show, are you kidding me?'" Frazier said with a laugh. "(Bradley) is an aberration, we probably won't see this again. Rhodes Scholar, Senator, NBA All-Star, Hall-of-Famer, that's not going to happen again to one player. Then he's playing in New York City, in the Mecca of basketball, I think it's a phenomenon."
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Knicks? Click Here.
Follow AllKnicks.com on Twitter.
