Why Walt Frazier is one of the NBA's best

Image source: bleacherreport.com

Walt Frazier is nothing short of a New York sports hero. In today's blog, Ron Phillips looks at the amazing career of one of the greatest NBA players in history.

Frazier was born on July 18, 1945, and grew up in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. At 5 feet 11 inches and weighing 185 pounds, he was a standout basketball player at Boys High School. He then went to the City College of New York (CCNY), where he played both basketball and baseball for the Beavers before graduating in 1967.

While at City College, he competed against Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) at Madison Square Garden. Frazier scored 28 points and pulled 16 rebounds to lead his team to a 75-53 victory over the much taller Alcindor's Power Memorial High School team.

Frazier was drafted to the Cincinnati Royals in 1967 as a territorial pick, but he could not play due to an injury that occurred at CCNY. On Oct. 7, 1967, during practice for the Beavers, Frazier's teammate, David Simpson, accidentally elbowed him in his face, causing two of his teeth and some bone to chip, but he recovered.

Image source: media.gq.com


Frazier played his rookie season in the NBA for the Cincinnati Royals, where he averaged 10 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds per game. On Feb. 1, 1968, he scored 24 points against Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers and bagged Rookie of The Year that year, Ron Phillips of New York adds.

On Feb. 10, 1970, Frazier played in his first All-Star Game and was named the All-Star team in 1972, 1973, and 1975. Walt also won two NBA Championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. He was voted MVP of those championship runs by his teammates and league executives, where he averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.

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