Walt Frazier
Teams
New York Knicks - 1967-77
Cleveland Cavaliers - 1977-79
Playoffs
Appearances - 8 (1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975)
Conference Finals - 6 (1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974)
NBA Finals - 3 (1970,1972,1973)
Championships - 2 (1970,1973)
Awards and Honors
All-NBA First Team - 4 (1969,1970,1972,1974,1975)
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (1971,1972,1973,1975)
Finals MVP - 0 (1970,1973)
Hall of Fame - 1987
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Assists Per Game - #57
Total Assists - #66
Points Per Game - #95
League Leads
Assists Per Game (#2-1970, #3-1969, #4-1974, #5-1971)
Total Assists (#2-1970, #3-1969, #4-1974)
Total Steals (#2-1975)
Steals Per Game (#2-1975)
Walt Frazier was a 3-sport star in high school, but turned down numerous football scholarship offers to attend Southern Illinois to play basketball. During his senior season, he was name the NIT MVP, and it led to him being drafted #5 overall by the Knicks in 1967.
Frazier was good enough in his first season to be named to the All-Rookie Team, but he really became a star in his second season, when he averaged 17.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game. That year he also helped lead the Knicks to their first of 6 consecutive Conference Finals, this one ending in a loss to Bill Russell and the Celtics in the big man's final season.
The next season was Frazier's first on the All-NBA First Team, and it was well-deserved. He raised his averages to 20.9 points and 8.2 assists while still collecting 6 rebounds per game from the point guard position, and he led the Knicks to their first-ever championship. Willis Reed was named the MVP after playing the first couple of minutes of Game 7 despite a major injury, but it was Frazier who was the star of that game, with an amazing stat line of 36 points, 19 assists, 7 rebounds, and 6 steals.
Frazier had his best scoring season the next year, but the Knicks were unable to repeat as champions, getting knocked off by the Bullets in the Conference Finals, but they won the East again in 1972, this time falling in the Finals to the Lakers, who had set the record that year with 69 wins, which stood for over 20 years.
They got their revenge the next year, beating the Lakers in 5 games, with Reed again being named Finals MVP, though Frazier again had a valid argument that the award should have been his. He outscored Reed in the series, had a lot more assists, and had nearly as many rebounds as the starting center, but once again he was overlooked.
Frazier had a few more good seasons with the Knicks, and he was the team's all-time leader in most statistical categories by the time he was traded in 1977, and he still owns the team assist record today. Many openly questioned the team for trading their most famous player, but in 3 seasons with Cleveland, he only managed to play in 66 games before retiring.
For a point guard, Frazier's assist totals for most of his career were just average, but he was a very good rebounder for his size, an above-average shooter and scorer, and arguably the best player on 2 championship teams, even if he doesn't have the trophies to prove it. He averaged 20-5-5 for 6 straight seasons in the prime of his career, and led deep playoff runs consistently, making him an easy choice for one of the greatest players of all time.
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