Walt 'Clyde' Frazier is Still 'Rockin' Steady' After All These Years

Not only did Walt “Clyde” Frazier lead the New York Knicks to two championships in 1970 and 1973, he also redefined what it meant to be “cool” with his signature style of play and dress, all of which is captured in his book Rockin’ Steady: A Guide to Basketball & Cool.
 
Originally released in 1974 and co-written with New York Times sportswriter Ira Berkow, the updated version of Rockin’ Steady contains a new introduction and afterword from Frazier, now the color commentator for the Knicks on the MSG Network alongside Imus’s buddy Mike Breen. Despite Imus’s best efforts, Frazier would not say a bad word about his broadcasting partner.
 
“We worked a long time together in radio, and he moved to TV and I followed,” Frazier said. “He gave me the opportunity to talk more than most color guys.”
 
Back in his heyday, Frazier told Imus, he’d first be coming home at the time he was giving this interview. “It was fabulous,” he said of his tenure in the NBA. “Being in the world’s greatest city, and winning the world championships, especially in 1969 and 1970—the Knicks, the Mets, the Jets all won. So it was a very fun time.”
 
He and his Knicks teammates, like Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Dick Barnett, personified “team,” in Frazier’s view, and their style of play was different from the kind seen nowadays in the NBA.
 
“In today’s game, everybody is more of a specialist,” he said. “You have a point guard who doesn’t shoot, a shooting guard who doesn’t dribble. As opposed to when I played, you were a guard, you had to do everything. I think they players had more versatility.”
 
Looking back at Rockin’ Steady made Frazier laugh at how egotistical and materialistic he was back then, talking about how much money he made, his Rolls Royces, and his “fashion passion.”
 
“My father was a good dresser, so I can remember as a kid wearing his clothes, wanting to be like that,” he said. “When I was in college, I wore penny loafers and button-down, collared shirts like everybody else. Then I come to New York, the mecca for style and fashion.”
 
What set Frazier apart from his teammates was wearing the famous “Clyde” hat that gave him his nickname. “I bought this hat in 1970, two weeks before the movie ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ came out,” he said. “I’ve been ‘Clyde’ now for 30 years.”
 
Having been raised in what he described as “humble beginnings” in Atlanta, Georgia, Frazier, who is the oldest of nine children, rarely engaged in negative or dangerous behavior because of the “village” of parents, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, and peers protecting him. Though his basketball talents were evident early on, Frazier emphasized the importance of discipline. 
 
“You might be born with a lot of talent, born tall, but you still have to hone your skills and work diligently to perfect your game,” Frazier, who prided himself on his defensive abilities, said.
 
Imus remembered well the days of Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s New York City, and told his guest he still looked good enough to be able to play professionally. Smiling, Frazier said, “I wish!”
 
-Julie Kanfer