New York Knicks legend Walt Frazier names the greatest NBA player of all time

A superstar with the New York Knicks for a decade, Walt Frazier won two championships and earned a reputation as one of the greatest players of his era. Now retired, Clyde shared his view on who deserves the title of greatest NBA player of all time.

“If I had to choose one guy? I would say Kareem,” Frazier said in a 2008 interview with Slam Magazine. It’s a logical pick from the Knicks icon, who spent years going up against Abdul-Jabbar in battles against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.

During that stretch, Abdul-Jabbar won one NBA title with the Bucks in 1971 and five league MVPs. He later captured five more championships with the Lakers between 1980 and 1988, along with a sixth MVP award—by then, Frazier had already retired.

Clyde praised Kareem’s dominance across all aspects of the game: “He won at every level. He dominated in this game. He has six rings. He has the scoring title without even trying,” Frazier said, before comparing him to another Lakers legend, Wilt Chamberlain. “If he had Wilt’s mindset, he would have had 50K points. He was very team-oriented in what he did.”

Frazier says Jordan isn’t the GOAT

Frazier has repeatedly made it clear that he doesn’t place Michael Jordan at the top of the all-time list. Instead, he’s often highlighted legends from earlier eras, while pointing to what he sees as media-driven bias surrounding the Chicago Bulls legend.

“He had exposure. At the time Jordan played, the NBA was bigger than football. Ratings were higher than football. That’s why they say he is the greatest,” Clyde said during a 2024 appearance on The Buster Show.

“They talk about Jordan, how many times he’s scored 50, 60 points,” the Knicks legend added. “38 times? Wilt Chamberlain did that like 138 times… Who saw Wilt Chamberlain? How many people are alive that saw him play? It’s the same thing with the Heisman trophy; the guys on the West Coast weren’t winning it because we were sleeping. In the East, when they’re playing, the people that vote are sleeping.”

Frazier compares Jordan with Russell, Chamberlain and Robertson

In the same conversation, Frazier expanded on why he believes Jordan falls short of other all-time greats in certain key areas. “I always say, what’s the criteria,” he asked. “If you’re talking about the most dominant, Wilt Chamberlain. The guy has all the records. You’re talking about versatility, Oscar Robertson, a guy who almost averaged a triple-double almost for his whole career. You talk about winning, it’s Bill Russell. The man has 13 world championships,” Clyde explained.

“Michael Jordan is not the leading scorer in the history of the game. He’s not the winningest player in the history of the game. He’s not the most versatile player in the history of the game. How could you say he’s the greatest player?” Frazier concluded.

Frazier defends Wilt Chamberlain’s legacy

Though he named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the greatest ever, Frazier has always spoken highly of Wilt Chamberlain. In a 2000 interview with Slam Magazine, he pushed back against the notion that Chamberlain’s lack of championships should hurt his legacy. “Some have suggested that Wilt was not the greatest player ever because he only won two titles, as opposed to Jordan’s six. This is simply unfair,” Walt said.

He then pointed to the unique challenges Wilt faced during his prime: “If it weren’t for the Celtics dynasty, Wilt would likely have ended up with nine rings,” Frazier argued. “Jordan had no true rival.”

The remarkable career of Walt Frazier

Frazier’s opinion carries weight given the impact he had during his playing days. Selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1967 Draft, the point guard launched a storied career with the Knicks that included the franchise’s only two championships, in 1970 and 1973.

After 10 seasons in New York—where he earned seven All-Star selections, four All-NBA First Team honors, and seven All-Defensive First Team nods—Clyde finished his career with two seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers before retiring in 1979 at age 34.

Since then, he’s received numerous accolades: his No. 10 jersey was retired by the Knicks, he was named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.