Hall of Fame
Frazier had a tremendous career that included collegiate exploits with Southern Illinois and a 13-year run in the NBA with the New York Knickerbockers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Frazier played two seasons at Southern Illinois (1964-65 and 1966-67), collecting 884 points for an average of 17.7 per game – eighth-best on the all-time Saluki list. In 1967, he led Southern Illinois to the National Invitation tournament title. He earned All-America honors as a senior in 1967, and the New York Knicks made him their first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 1967 NBA Draft.
He started slowly, averaging only 9/0 points in 1967-68, but Frazier and teammate Phil Jackson, future head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, were named to the NBA All-Rookie Team at season’s end.
Frazier presided over the Nicks for 10 years from 1967-77, and he left holding team records for points scored, assists and games played.
Frazier later spent potions of three seasons with Cleveland, ending his career in 1979 with a lifetime average of 18.9 points per game in 825 regular-season games, and 20.7 points per game in 93 playoff contests.
His professional honors included election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986 and selection for the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.
During his career, he was a member of two NBA championship teams (1970 and 1973), participated in seven NBA All-Star Games (1970-1976), four-time All-NBA first-team choice (1970,1972, 1974-75), twice All-NBA second-team selection (1971, 1973) and seven-time NBA All-Defensive first-team choice. He also was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 1975.
The institutional Great Award category has been added to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony to honor, on an annual basis, one player, coach or administrator who competed or worked at a current conference school, when the institution was not a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.