Walt Frazier – From Way Downtown

Willis Reed: The Game I’ll Never Forget, 1970

I had some nerve going up against the greatest all-around center in NBA history in my condition, but I’m glad I made the effort. It was worth it.

Dick Barnett: Keep on Keepin’ On, 1972

At 35 years of age, Barnett doesn’t have much time left in the game. It has been only in the past four years that he has really made decent money, and he hates to give it up so soon.

Red Holzman: The Plainest Man in the World, 1970

And after, when Red had finished hurling wonderfully descriptive expletives at the officials, when he had talked to the reporters who cluster in ever-increasing numbers these days, he went to Russell’s near the Cadillac Hotel with a few friends. Russell’s is a late-night steak place.

Willis Reed: The Art & Agony of a Gentle Giant, 1973

Willis Reed was past 30 now, and in the compressed lifespan of athletics that is to be past middle-age. It is a time when the body begins to betray its promises of youth, a time when the infinite resilience and boundless energy start to become less dependable certainties.

Phil Chenier: Can He Unseat Walt Frazier as Basketball’s Top Guard, 1975

“Clyde is the best. He deserves his reputation. He earned it. I’d like to be in that position myself someday.”

Willis Reed: Managing The Knicks’ Special Agony, 1978

Just as he did as a player, Reed threw himself wholeheartedly into the job.

The Imminent Decline and Fall of the New York Knicks, 1975

Basketball may be the No. 1 sport in New York, but the Knicks no longer will be kings of the NBA.

The First and Final Year of Bill Bradley, 1973

It isn’t easy to strip away the superlatives, to assess Bill Bradley calmly, to look at both the veteran pro and the rookie pol.

Being Walt Frazier, 1974

The boys spotted Frazier, and their façade faded. They were kids again, full of excitement. “Hey, man, isn’t that Clyde?” one said.

A Banner Day for Lakers: Kareem Takes His Post, 1975

The trade that changed the makeup of the Lakers happened Monday, June 16, 1975, when club owner Jack Kent Cooke announced he had sent four players—Brian Winters, Elmore Smith, David Meyers, and Junior Bridgeman—and a cash payment to the Bucks for Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley.