Knicks legend Walt Frazier turns 80: ‘I still try to work out three, four days a week’

Walt Frazier turned 80 years old on Sunday, but it’s safe to say he doesn’t look a day over 65. Some might tell you 55. That said, the New York Knicks legend will tell you he puts in the work.

“I guess because my routines are still the same, I still try to work out three, four days a week and stay active, still traveling with the team,” Frazier told Steve Serby of the New York Post. “People will be saying, ‘Oh man, you look great!’ but I know it just takes me all day to get to this point, man (laugh).”

Frazier, nicknamed “Clyde,” was the fifth pick of the 1967 NBA Draft out of Southern Illinois. He helped drive the Knicks to the Finals in 1972 and the championship in 1973 — for their last title.

He finished his career with the Cavaliers, though he played just 66 total games over his final three seasons. Now, he’s a longtime analyst for Knicks games and remains a New York icon and legend around the league.

For Frazier, 80 appears to be the new 40.

“That’s where I am,” he told Serby. “I’m actually viewing life differently, it’s no longer about how long I live but also how I live. I’m in uncharted waters, not too many people can help me, like, ‘Tell me what’s going on here.’

“But I’m excited. I’m still doing it, I’m still relevant, still with the team. But I just want to give back more. I’m dedicated to giving back more of my time now, especially to kids, because the kids have always been there for me … the Garden of Dreams and my Walt Frazier Youth Foundation. I’m giving out my book [‘Winning and Grinning’] at the games, so that’ll give me an entry into the schools — which I’ve been doing, talking with the kids about education, absent from drugs you can be what you want you to be. You can be better than Clyde, you can do it, guys.”

All of that is just a small sample of the extensive Q&A from Frazier on his 80th. For fans of NBA nostalgia, it’s well worth the read. Check it out here.