With the 2020 NCAA tourney tipping off next month, we will spend this month taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players/coaches who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From some game-winning FTs in the 1955 tourney (65th anniversary) through a 17-PT comeback win in the 2015 1st 4 (5th anniversary), these legends have all carved out a little piece of history in past Marches. We continue our series with Hall of Famer Walt Frazier, who is 1 of the greatest players to ever make the leap from D-2 to the NBA. A 2-time D-2 All-American, he lost the 1965 D-2 title game in OT before winning the 1967 NIT over Marquette en route to being named NIT MVP. After being drafted 5th overall by the Knicks in 1967, he made 7 straight All-Star Games AND was named to the All-Defensive 1st-team 7 straight times. He won a pair of NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987, and was selected to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Walt about the 55th anniversary of almost winning the 1965 D-2 tourney and the 50th anniversary of beating the Lakers in the 1970 NBA Finals. We also wish the MSG Knicks broadcaster a happy early 75th birthday next month!
At Southern Illinois you were a D-2 All-American in both 1964/1965: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? It was very galvanizing because I was unheralded coming out of high school. To get some recognition like that was very exciting for me: it made me work even harder.
What are your memories of the 1965 D-2 tourney title game (tourney MOP Jerry Sloan set a D-2 title game record with 25 REB in a 3-PT OT win by Evansville in their home city to clinch the title and finish the season a perfect 29-0)? I believe that we lost 3 games by a total of 4 PTS to them that season: they were our archrival. Sloan was tenacious, always going to the glass and scoring. They had a phenomenal team: they used to beat Big 10 teams at the time even though they were a small college but I will always remember Sloan and his tenacity.
You were ruled academically ineligible in 1966 but came back in 1967 to beat Marquette to win the NIT title: did you feel a sense of redemption after being named NIT MVP at MSG, and how disappointed were you about not being invited to the NCAA tourney? Winning the MVP was the culmination of my athletic career up to that point and it catapulted me into the limelight. Scouts knew about me but the public did not so going to the Garden was almost like a dream come true. When we got to NYC I was like “Wow, how great would it be to win!”…and then I was named MVP. I never thought that I would get drafted by the Knicks because they had so many backcourt players at the time.
You became 1 of the 1st athletes to have his own signature shoe when you endorsed some suede sneakers made by Puma: how big a deal was it back then to have a sneaker deal? I did not realize at the time how historic an event it was. Other guys were getting shoes but none of them were getting paid for it: I was the first to get paid. We transformed the shoe to suede and made it more flexible/light: it became a very hot shoe.
Take me through the magical 1970 Finals vs. the Lakers (which featured a combined 8 future Hall of Famers!):
In Game 3 Jerry West made a 60-foot shot at the end of regulation to send the game into OT before a 3-PT loss by the Lakers: where does that rank among the most amazing shots that you have ever seen? It was probably the most amazing when you consider that it was the Finals. We were lucky that there were no 3-PT shots back then because if that shot had won that game it would have turned the entire momentum of the playoffs. I can remember it like yesterday: the determination in West’s eyes. I was looking at him thinking, “This guy is crazy if he thinks he is going to make this shot!”
In the 1st half of Game 5, Finals MVP Willis Reed tore a muscle in his leg but your team forced the Lakers into 30 turnovers and came back from a 16-PT 3rd quarter deficit for a 7-PT win: do you agree with Dave DeBusschere’s claim that it was “1 of the greatest basketball games ever played”? I do not know if it was the greatest but it was the most innovative because we had to improvise without Willis.
Game 7 is primarily remembered for Reed running out of the tunnel to receive a huge roar from the home crowd but you had 36 PTS [12-12 FT]/5 STL/career-high 19 AST to win the title: how inspiring was Reed’s return, and where does that game rank among the highlights of your career? That is the highlight of my career because it was our 1st championship. Our captain showed so much courage: when he came out people thought that it was premeditated but we did not know he would be doing that. I saw Wilt Chamberlain/Elgin Baylor/Jerry West just mesmerized. They stopped doing whatever they were doing and just stared at Willis. At that point it gave me so much confidence that I said, “We’ve got these guys!” I could just feel that they were psyched out while watching him come onto the floor, and then (as fate would have it) he made his 1st 2 shots.
In 1972 the Lakers won 69 games in the regular season and then beat the Knicks in 5 games in the Finals: where does that team rank among the best you have ever seen? They are in the top-10: that record was able to stand for a long time.
Take me through the magical 1973 playoffs:
Boston won 68 games in the regular season but you had 25 PTS/10 REB to beat them on their home court in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals: how on earth were you able to get a win on the road against a franchise that was previously 10-0 in Game 7s?! We should have beat them at the Garden during Game 6 but they prevailed. Nobody gave us a chance going up there because of their formidable record. That season we had a lot of injuries but then we finally got healthy right before the playoffs and gained a lot of momentum: we were playing well.
In the Finals you lost Game 1 to the Lakers before winning the next 4 to win your 2nd title in 4 years: were you out for revenge against the Lakers, and how did this title compare to the 1st one? It was not revenge: we were just doing our job by going out and attacking them. In 1973 we had Earl Monroe/Jerry Lucas, which made us a more talented team. Earl had played poorly the previous year so I think that he had redemption on his mind because he came out and played really well and we ended up winning. 1973 was not as memorable as 1970: there is nothing like your 1st!
You scored 30 PTS in the 1975 All-Star Game and were named MVP in 6-PT win over the West: how were you able to play your best against the best? In our final game before the All-Star break we played at Phoenix and I scored 43 PTS. Since the All-Star game was in Phoenix I did not have to do any extra travel, and I had just played well on that court so I felt very comfortable. When you 1st become an All-Star your friends (who are also your biggest critics) start saying, “Man, when are you going to be the MVP?!” After being named an All-Star in each of the 5 previous years, I finally silenced them by winning it during my 6th All-Star game.
You were a 7-time All-Defensive 1st-team performer: what is your secret for playing great defense? Stance. You cannot improvise on the stance (butt down, head up), so once you master that it is just about perseverance and wanting to do it. It helps if you can run and jump and are quick, but it is not a necessity. The key is to take pride in your defense.