Brief introduction
Walter Frazier (born March 29, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former American professional basketball player who plays point guard and nicknamed Clyde.
Walter Fraser was selected by the New York Knicks in round 1 of the 1st round of the 1967 NBA Draft, played for the New York Knicks and cleveland Cavaliers in his career, was named to the NBA Rookie First Team in his rookie season,[2] won the NBA championship twice with the Knicks, was named to the NBA All-Team first team four times, was named to the NBA All-Star Team twice, was named to the NBA All-Star Team seven times and won the NBA All-Star mvp in 1975. 7 times selected for the NBA's Best Defensive Team.
In October 1979, Walter Fraser officially announced his retirement. On December 15 of the same year, the Knicks retired Walter Fraser's No. 10 jersey. In 1986, he was inducted into the Nye Smith Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was selected as one of the top 50 NBA superstars.
Early experience
Born on March 29, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia, Walter Fraser was the eldest of nine children and used to be the eldest in high school. He is a quarterback on the football team and a receiver on the baseball team. His basketball skills were honed on rough sand, the only venue available to black schools in the 1950s in the segregated South. Fraser developed his own basketball philosophy very early on, all the way to the professional arena, aggressive defense first, and then passing the ball to a teammate in the gap is always more effective than his own bad shot.
Fraser University chose Southern Illinois University. Under Fraser's leadership, Southern Illinois University became the first primary school to win a cup at NIT (a major tournament that was equally famous in the early years as the NCAA Championship). Walter was named to the National All-Team
Athletic career
New York Knicks period
In the 1967 draft, Walter Fraser was selected by the New York Knicks with the 5th pick in the 1st round.
In the 1967–68 season, Fraser averaged just 9.0 points per game. After William Horsman became head coach, Fraser's playing time and confidence began to skyrocket. At the end of the season, Fraser was named to the Rookie All-Rookie Team along with teammate Phil Jackson.
In the 1968-69 season, Fraser averaged 17.5 points per game and was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Team for the first time. The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the 1969-70 season, the Knicks went unbeaten in 18 games, breaking the NBA winning streak record at the time, and finally topped the league with a record of 60 wins and 22 losses. Fraser averaged 20.9 points and 8.2 assists per game, was named an All-Star for the first time and was named to the NBA First Team for the first time, and the Knicks won their first NBA championship in team history.
In the 1970–71 season, Fraser led the Knicks to the East Conference Finals, losing seven games to the Baltimore Bullets.
In the 1971-72 season, the Knicks got Earl Monroe, and the two complemented Fraser very well, and Fraser averaged 23.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game to be selected to the NBA First Team again.
In the 1972-73 season, the Knicks defeated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, followed by a 4-1 revenge Lakers in the Finals, Fraser
Won his second championship ring.
In 1973–74, Fraser averaged 20.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Knicks were eliminated in the second round, and Fraser chose the best team of the year and was named to the All-Star team.
In 1974–75, Fraser averaged 21.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. The Knicks were eliminated in the first round and Fraser was named to the All-Star Team.
In the 1975–76 season, Fraser averaged 19.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The Knicks didn't make the playoffs.
In the 1976–77 season, Fraser's average points per game dropped to 17.4 points, and the Knicks missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Knighthood
Cleveland Knighthood
In the 1977–78 season, the Knicks transferred Walter Fraser to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fraser averaged 16.2 points per game.
In the 1978–79 season, Fraser played in just 12 games, averaging 10.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
At the beginning of the 1979–80 season, after Fraser played only three games for the team, the Cavaliers chose to cut him. After that, Fraser announced his retirement. October 17, 1979 was the last game of his career, and he scored four points.
When he left New York, Walter Fraser was the team's all-time number one scorer (14,617 points), number one assist (4,791), first appearance (759 games) and first appearance (28,995 minutes). These records were all later broken by Patrick Ewing. The Knicks retired Fraser's No. 10 jersey in 1979 and Walter Fraser was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1996, he was selected as one of the top 50 NBA superstars.
Retired life
After retiring, Fraser opened a player agency, and he became an investor in a team, but none of them succeeded. He returned to New York in 1989 and became the live commentator for the Knicks. In the commentary, various eye-catching costumes attract a lot of eyeballs for him