Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 16: New York’s First Favourite Little Guy
Obviously New York City has a new favourite little guy (in NBA terms). Jalen Brunson catapulted from an overpaid free agent signing to a top 5 player while leading the charge to the title. Believe it or not, this is not the first time New York has been skeptical of a small guard, only for that guard to lead them to championship glory.
In the 1967 NBA draft, the Knicks selected a little guard from little Southern Illinois, an NIT team, named Walt Frazier with the 5th overall pick . As you can imagine, the pick was heavily criticized. However, it’s important to remember Frazier was not spoiled, far from it.
He was living in a trailer with his wife and 2-month-old son. The obligation to provide for his family was likely the reason he even signed with the Knicks despite his loyalty Southern Illinois’s head coach Jack Hartman. That loyalty stems from the fact that Frazier actually missed his junior year because he was academically ineligible, so add that onto the question marks New York already had about him. Still, Frazier showed promise in his rookie year (1967-68) and truly broke out in the very next season.
He finished his sophomore year with averages of 18 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. To make it even better, Frazier was named 1st-team all defence with 25 of 28 possible votes. That was the most of any player, more than even Bill Russell. Had DPOY existed at the time, he may have won it.
Frazier carried his breakout year into the playoffs as he helped the Knicks win their first playoff series in a decade while boosting his averages to 21, 9 and 7. New York would ultimately lose to the final version of the Bill Russell Celtics. Once they were gone, a power vacuum opened in the east.
The Knicks immediately threw themselves into it by winning 60 games in 1969-70. Frazier had a fantastic season. 21, 8 and 6 with the most votes for all-defensive 1st team, all-NBA 1st team and he also finished 4th in MVP voting. The Knicks faced the Baltimore Bullets in round 1. Frazier lost the point guard matchup with Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, who averaged 28 compared to Frazier’s 19. No matter, they won the series in 7.
The Knicks faced Kareem and the Bucks in round 2 where Frazier struggled even more. He averaged 10 points on putrid 35% shooting. Luckily, New York won the series in 5, bringing them to their first ever Finals where they faced their biggest challenge.
Despite their 46-36 record, the LA Lakers were the best team in the West. They boasted one of the best trios ever. Some guys named Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. They averaged a combined 83 points per game with West as the top scorer of both the team and NBA (31.2 PPG). New York needed Frazier to perform.
Through 6 games, Frazier averaged 15 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds while shooting 50%. He mainly acted as a distributor for New York’s scorers, most notably for Willis Reed who had a fantastic series. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in game 5 when Reed suffered a torn thigh muscle, keeping him out for the rest of game 5 and surely the series.
Thanks to Frazier and his teammates, New York scrapped out a game 5 win. They had a chance to close it out in game 6, but without Reed in the paint, Wilt Chamberlain put up 45 points and 27 rebounds in a 22-point win, setting them up for a winner-take-all game 7. Walt Frazier couldn’t just be the distributor anymore. He needed to step up.
In the biggest game of his life and New York basketball history, Walt Frazier put up 36 points (71% shooting), 19 assists and 7 rebounds as the Knicks won the game by 24 points and claimed their first championship.
If you’re an NBA historian like me, you likely know game 7 of the 1970 Finals for a different reason, as this is also the game Willis Reed limped onto the court despite his gruesome injury, scored some points and sat out for the rest of the game. Because of that, this game is known as The Willis Reed Game, which is a shame. Not because Reed doesn’t deserve credit, but because it takes away from Frazier’s incredible performance.
Walt Frazier is 1 of just 3 players ever to put up 30 points and 10 assist in game 7 of the NBA finals. The other 2 are Jerry West and James Worthy. Out of the 3, Walt’s performance boasts easily the best efficiency and the most assists. Only 1 other player has accumulated 15 assists in a game 7 and that was Magic Johnson. 36 points is the 6th most scored in a Finals Game 7 ever. If we remove games that went into overtime, it’s 3rd, behind only LeBron James and Jerry West.
Even without the game 7 parameter, Frazier is 1 of 2 players ever with a 30-point and 15-assist Finals game (the other is Jerry West, what a shock).
It is objectively one of the greatest performance yet history books remember a man who scored 4 points more. Again, not taking anything away from Reed. His arrival galvanized the Knicks. But why can’t we remember when Walt Frazier became a Larry O’Brien Legend too?
