What is Walt Frazier's Net Worth?
Walt Frazier is an American former professional basketball player who has a net worth of $4.5 million. Walt "Clyde" Frazier is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time and led the New York Knicks to the franchise's only two NBA Championships (1970 and 1973) to date.
Early Life
Walter Frazier Jr. was born on March 29, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended David Tobias Howard High School. He was the quarterback for the football team and catcher on the baseball team and learned how to play basketball on a dirt playground, the only facility available at the all-black school in the segregated South at the time. He was offered football scholarships but ultimately accepted a basketball offer from Southern Illinois University.
Walt was named a Division II All-American in 1964 and 1965. In 1965, Frazier led SIU to the NCAA Division II Tournament only to lose in the finals to Jerry Sloan and the Evansville Purple Aces 85-82 in overtime. In 1966, he was academically ineligible for basketball. The team moved from Division II up to Division I in 1967, and Frazier helped them win the National Invitation Tournament with a 71-56 victory over Marquette University. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Walt Frazier's No. 52 was ultimately retired by Southern Illinois University.
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NBA Career
In the 1967 NBA Draft, Walt Frazier was drafted fifth overall by the New York Knicks. He had immediate success and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First team. In 1969–70, his third season in the league, he made his first of seven All-Star appearances, helping the New York Knicks win their first NBA title in seven games against the Los Angeles Lakers. They won their second NBA Finals in the 1972-1973 season when they met up with the Lakers once again, this time winning in five games in the best of seven series. Frazier was the MVP of the 1975 All-Star Game.
After the 1976-1977 season, Frazier was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jim Cleamons in a youth movement. The Knicks would pay part of his salary of more than $400,000 that year with three seasons remaining on the contract. He only played in 66 games over the course of three years with Cleveland and retired midway through the 1979-1980 season.
Frazier scored 15,581 points in his Hall of Fame career and had more than 5,000 assists to go with 4,830 rebounds. He was selected for the league's All-Defensive team seven times. Walt Frazier's No. 10 jersey was retired by the New York Knicks on December 15, 1979. In 1987, Walt Frazier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with Pete Maravich and Rick Barry. In 1996, he was elected to the NBA's 50th Anniversary Team. In 2021, he was honored once again as one of the best players of all time when named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Personal Life
Walt Frazier lives with his longtime girlfriend, Patricia James, in Harlem. The couple also has a home in St. Croix. Frazier has a son who has been referred to as both Walt Jr. and Walt III.
As a basketball player, Frazier was known as a fashion icon, one of the first major pro athletes to be considered as such. He has a line of Puma sneakers named after him.
Walt Frazier is currently a color commentator for telecasts of Knicks games on the MSG Network.
