Walt “Clyde” Frazier may have delivered a bit of news during Tuesday night’s Knicks broadcast on MSG Network.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will not announce its 2024 class until Saturday, but Frazier revealed on air beforehand that Knicks legend Dick Barnett will soon be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
“Dick Barnett, great news that he’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame,” Frazier said during a break in the Knicks’ 109-99 loss to the Heat.
“Is it official?” commentator Mike Breen asked in response. “Oh, that’s great Clyde.”
Mr. Breen said Mr. Frazier “must have some inside information,” quickly realizing or being told that the news had not yet been made public.
“The Earl of Pearl Harbor called and told me,” Frazier said.
“That’s very nice,” Breen replied.
Barnett, one of the committee’s two veteran finalists, is more than deserving of this honor, and this news definitely brought smiles to the faces of Knicks fans around the world.
The Knicks’ legendary shooting guard played eight seasons in New York and is one of only seven players to have his number hung in the rafters at Madison Square Garden.
Burnett was a championship member of the Knicks in both 1970 and 1973, and appeared in the NBA All-Star Game with the Knicks in 1968.
He remains the franchise’s ninth leading scorer with 9,442 points.
Barnett’s on-court success extended beyond his time with the Knicks, as he led Tennessee A&I University to three consecutive NAIA national championships and made the university the first black college or university (HBCU) to win the men’s basketball title in 1957. did.
The team was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019
The Hall of Fame will announce the 14 finalists for the Class of 2024 in February, and the official inductees will be announced at the Men’s Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.
Other finalists in this year’s class include Seimone Augustus, Chauncey Billups, and Vince Carter.
