Walter Frazier Jr. is a former professional basketball player. Frazier accepted a basketball offer from Southern Illinois University, saying that "there were no black quarterbacks, so I played basketball."Frazier became one of the premier collegiate basketball players in the country. He was named a Division II All-American in 1964 and 1965.

Frazier played in the NBA. As the Knick's floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York to the franchise's only two championships (1970 and 1973), as of 2021. During the 1971 off-season, Frazier scored 26 points and was named MVP of an exhibition game played between NBA and ABA All-Stars in Houston's Astrodome. During that season, the Knicks traded for Monroe. Many people thought the two players’ styles would not mesh, but Monroe and Frazier soon became one of the best backcourts in the league. In 1976, Frazier was selected for his seventh and final NBA All-Star Game.

Frazier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987. Upon his retirement from basketball, Frazier went into broadcasting. As of 2021, he is a color commentator for telecasts of Knicks games on the MSG Network.