Knicks Legend Ready For 'Devastating' Playoff Final Call

Walt "Clyde" Frazier will be smarting and departing from New York Knicks playoff basketball this week.

The 80-year-old Frazier has stated that he has no intention of walking away from his post as the Knicks' primary color commentator on MSG Network but factors beyond his control will force him away from the postseason: starting next season, regional sports networks like MSG will lose their ability to broadcast first-round NBA playoff games when a new media deal kicks in next year, as they will land under exclusive national umbrellas.

That'll deny Knicks fans an opportunity to hear Frazier call their team's most vital games, a move that has rendered the Hall-of-Famer heartbroken.

“It’s going to be devastating,” Frazier said in an interview with Neil Best of Newsday. “In the playoffs, my palms get sweaty. Memories come back. I get the chill bumps, because I always say, in the regular season you make your name and in the playoffs you gain your fame. That’s when you think about the confrontations with Earl [Monroe] and Oscar [Robertson] and [Jerry] West, all the different guys rising to that occasion."

“Nothing else in my life has given me that challenge, nothing else has gotten me to that point. The playoffs is the thing. Now I won't be able to experience that.”

Frazier will be on the call for MSG alongside longtime broadcast partner Mike Breen when the Knicks face the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Tuesday night. MSG Network will also call the sixth game of the series and possibly the seventh if either are rendered necessary. New York currently holds a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven set. Frazier had missed Game 3 due to an illness, a source told Knicks on SI, while Game 4 was a national exclusive on ABC.

While Breen will continue to call playoff games for ABC and ESPN, including the NBA Finals, a Game 5 win for the Knicks could be bittersweet considering it could stand as Frazier's final playoff call.

The two-time New York champion has already been invited to join the Knicks at both Madison Square Garden and on the road, if and when his successors advance. New York will face either Boston or Orlando if it handles business against Detroit.

Frazier was honored by the gesture but lamented to developments in the booth.

“The league's a multi-billion-dollar league now,” Frazier told Best. “It continues to prosper in one way, but also you're losing a legacy in another way.”

Frazier has plenty of support on his side: Knicks owner James Dolan has previously spoken out against the new media deal due to the potential negative impact it could have on RSNs like MSG while Breen called the loss of postseason games "really sad" in a prior interview with Best.

"I think it’s so unfortunate, because for the fans, they want to hear their local broadcasters, at least for some part of the postseason, because broadcasters often are part of the fans’ family," Breen said. "You can’t blame the rightsholders, because they’re paying all this money. But the league should have said, you know what, we’re going to hold onto that first round. I was really disappointed that they didn’t hold onto the first round, because it means something to the fans.”