Clyde “The Glide” Frazier was in studio with Opie & Anthony on Tuesday morning to promote his new book, which is actually an old book, “Rockin’ Steady: A Guide to Basketball & Cool.” The NBA legend brought his swagger, outlandish fashions, and basketball insight to the show.
Opie broke the ice with a very cerebral question to the NBA Hall of Famer – “Those old school basketball shorts were tight. How did u keep your balls from falling out of your shorts?”
Jim Norton got the interview back on track by asking Frazier if the older players are jealous of how much money the current players’ make, Clyde responded by saying, “Yes, I believe that probably 80-90% of older players are jealous. The current players are making Monopoly money. A lot of younger players don’t know the history of the game.”
Gregg “Opie” Hughes asks Clyde about the current New York Knicks and when will they be good again, “We’re blending into one right now. Amar’e Stoudemire is a good influence on the younger guys on the team. Raymond Felton is orchestrating the offense. They shortened the rotation to eight players and their starting to get chemistry.”
Jim asks if the younger players respect him, Clyde says, “Yes, they call me legend.” Norton then asks, if the women are still responding, “Sometimes,” Frazier hesitantly responds.
Norton then asks, “What do you miss most from your playing days?” Clyde responds “the camaraderie and challenge of being a hero every other night. I miss all the B.S. that goes on in the locker room.”
Opie says it was a shame that Clyde couldn’t end his career in New York, in which Frazier says, “Yea they traded me to Cleveland, basketball Siberia, but it was good in one way, in that it prepared me for life after basketball. I wasn’t in the glitz of New York City. I learned to stay in more and settle down a little.”
The boys asked The Glide what he does now that he’s retired, Frazier replied “Well I live in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I have a house in St. Croix. I enjoy gardening.” Opie interjects, “You grow the *makes inhaling sound*?” Clyde responds, “Marijuana?” Then everyone erupts in laughter. “I grow a lot of things, mangoes, oranges, fruit trees. The weather is great so everything grows there,” Frazier said.
No play for Mr. Gray.
They discuss how Frazier has no gray hair because he is a spokesperson and user of “Just For Men” with New York Mets former player and announcer, Keith Hernandez. Anthony finally speaks and it’s a good one, “Jimmy uses Just For Trannies.”
Frazier says that the toughest player to go against was Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. “Monroe was the only player that I had nightmares about. I knew what Oscar Robertson was going to do, try to be physical with me. I knew that Jerry West was going to use his quickness against me, but Monroe had it all. I never knew what Earl was going to do, I don’t think Earl knew what Earl was going to do. I really respected him, so when he came over to the Knicks it was easy to play with him. We were unequivocally the best backcourt of all-time.”
When asked who were the five greatest players in NBA history, Frazier listed them as:
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Bill Russell
- Oscar Robertson
- Jerry West
- Michael Jordan
“Kareem Abdul Jabbar is in the next level with Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird.”
On Jordan’s #5 ranking, “I respect Jordan, but he didn’t have to play against all of these great old school players. He played in an era where there wasn’t very many 7 foot centers. Plus the teams aren’t as good because of expansion.”
On Wilt being the top ranked player, “Wilt was the only player that the NBA had to change the rules for. There was no goaltending until Chamberlain was in the league. They widened the lanes from 6ft to 8ft because of Wilt’s dominance.”
On Kobe Bryant, “Hes right there with Michael (Jordan), he really has no weaknesses. He can shoot it, play defense, and is team-oriented.”
On LeBron James, “I was shocked he didn’t come to New York. I thought it would be the Knicks or he would go back to Cleveland. All he had to do was win once in New York and he’d be a hero. I am flabbergasted when players don’t want to come to New York. Now he’s in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but it’s not LeBron’s team. That Miami team has no chemistry. If they keep losing (Pat) Riley will come back to coaching soon. They have other problems too, they have nothing in the middle and they don’t have a bench.”
On playing in New York, “New York is not for everybody. The challenge of performing everyday is very difficult. What I like is that when you’re thriving they pay you all the kudos, so when you’re bad they bash you and that’s to be expected. The New York papers are funny when it’s not about you. I stop reading them when they’re getting on me.”
Anthony shows his NBA knowledge, “I liked Kareem in Airplane.” In which Clyde says, “You’d think Kareem would be a better actor. Even being in Hollywood all these years didn’t help him.”
Jimbo then referenced the Ron Artest vs. fans basketbrawl and asks Frazier if he ever wanted to go after an unruly fan, Clyde answered back with, “Fans no, but coaches yes. I wanted to do a ‘Sprewell’ on a coach way before Latrell Sprewell. Red Holzman would always get me so mad.”
Jimmy continues to give Clyde verbal bouquets on how great of a dresser he is and how much he is in shape (Homo). Clyde shows off his book, “Rockin’ Steady,” where he has an awful turtleneck shirt with a $20 gold chain, a silly hat, and a cape. Jimmy tells Clyde Frazier, not many people can pull off the cape. Probably only you and Elvis.”
