NBA legend and longtime New York Knicks commentator Walt Frazier turns 80 on Saturday, and he’s spent nearly 60 of those years in and around the NBA.
Frazier was selected with the fifth overall pick in 1967 by the New York Knicks. He played 10 of his 13 NBA seasons with the team, winning two championships and making seven consecutive All-Star teams.
He’s rightfully considered a Knicks legend on the court, but many younger fans know him for his work as a broadcaster with the team. Frazier has called Knicks games for MSG since 1987, and he’s worked with Mike Breen on games for well over two decades.
Frazier will always be synonymous with the team, but he doesn’t plan to leave his position in the broadcast booth any time soon.
“I don’t see retirement anytime soon. Obviously I’ve cut back on the road. But I still like to do the home games,” Frazier said in an interview with the New York Post.
“Even after that, I’d like to be like Starks, like Ewing, like [Larry Johnson], like [Latrell Sprewell] — to be around, sort of an ambassador, talking to the fans, coming to the games. I still see that in my future.”
Frazier said that he appreciates the respect that younger players, coaches and even those who work at Madison Square Garden have shown him over the years.
“The Garden has been my Xanadu, man, for 50 years, the workers there, the way they show me love and affection wherever I go. I’m just like on a magic carpet ride when I’m thinking about being 80 years old, man! I can’t believe it,” said the Knicks legend.
“Fifty years … I played in the greatest city in the world, I’ve played for one of the greatest teams in the greatest arena, the greatest fans,” Frazier said, reflecting on his time in New York as a player and a broadcaster.
“And I still have that adulation, wherever I go, people show me so much respect, and that’s why it’s so humbling for me, and wanting to help. And I’d be an ingrate not to want to give back and help other people. I’m standing on the shoulders of so many people that have helped me.”
Knicks fans appreciate Frazier’s insightful and colorful commentary, and he’s also respected by fans nationwide as one of the greatest players of all time.