Let’s start with the obvious. Walter “Clyde” Frazier Jr. is the greatest Knick who ever lived. Slice & dice it however you want, but the numbers tell the story of a player who is unequivocally the GOAT of New York Basketball (2x champion, #1 in franchise assists, first NBA player to get a shoe deal). 

What if I told you this same person is also a basketball guru and his classroom is the Knicks MSG broadcast - his lessons reach millions of students (of the game). His insights are full of basketball wisdom wrapped in rhymes and whole-hearted laughter. His ubiquity astounds and surpasses bounds.

We know the rhymes: hackin’ & whackin’, spinnin’ & winnin’, stumblin’ & bumblin’. You can’t watch a Knicks game without being intoxicated by the words of Clyde. 

When else do you get to listen to someone who was coached by Red Holzman, battled with Wilt, Oscar, Kareem, and had the best seat in the house to watch Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron. The amount of basketball that Clyde has forgotten is more basketball than I will ever amass. 

‍In 2014, I took a once-in-a-lifetime journey of 1,230 games by watching every NBA game that season. Part of that journey included compiling statistics on Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s iconic sayings during Knicks games (Clydeisms). 

11 years later, I’ve embarked on a modified version of that journey by compiling Clydeism statistics from every Knicks game this season that featured Clyde on the broadcast leading up to and including his 80th birthday celebration game on March 30th. 

Here are some of the key takeaways including the top 10 most used Clydeisms this season.

This season, the Knicks GOAT dropped an average of 35 Clydeisms per game. 

Leading the way are two of my personal favorites, dishin’ & swishin’ and movin’ & groovin’, which Clyde says on average twice per game. 

‍Dishin’ & swishin’ often follows good ball movement by the Knicks, something Clyde loves to see. This season, the Knicks are 24-3 when they have 30 or more assists. 

‍Movin’ & groovin’ captures the essence of coolness that is synonymous with Clyde.

Weavin' & Achievin' since February

35 Clydeisms per game is the season’s average, but Clyde has really upped his usage in 2025.

The man averaged 42 per game in the month of February. It wasn’t just volume, it was the creativity & dexterity with which he went about his business. 

He began Black History Month by dropping 52 during the Knicks thrilling comeback win against the Houston Rockets in MSG on February 3. 

He sent us dancin’ & prancin’ into the All-Star break with a 43-piece as the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 149-148 in an overtime extravaganza. 

And then Clyde went on vacation after the All-Star break. That right there my friends, is a lesson. Even at your peak, there’s always time to rest. 

Clyde came back from vacation in March by wheelin’ & dealin’ his way to a 49-piece in Miami as the Knicks erased a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Heat 116-112 in overtime. I can hear him now saying “wheelin’ & dealin’ & thrillin’” as Jalen Brunson hit the game-tying layup to send the game into overtime.

On March 17, Clyde was there calling the game as Josh Hart tied his 56-year old franchise record of 8 triple-doubles in a single season. Clyde dropped a season-high 55 that Monday night. He serenaded Josh Hart with grandeur & splendor, and gave us the soundtracks to the Knicks comeback win over a long-time rival. We’re talking 4-word combos like “Erratic & Dramatic & Acrobatic, Charismatic”. My favorite moment from that game was Clyde singing “I love it when they’re movin’ & groovin’” during a Mikal Bridges highlight package. 

As the NBA season intensifies with the playoffs looming, Clyde has stepped up his game. That’s the essence of persistence personified.

A Duo like None Other

Listening to Clyde and Mike Breen on the MSG TV broadcast is like listening to two long-time friends who share a special bond. Mike grew up as a Knicks fan and Clyde was his hero. They tease each other, complete each other's sentences, laugh at each other’s jokes, and tell stories. When I began this project, one of my hunches was that Clyde would be more loquacious with Mike. Well, I was right and wrong. Clyde certainly is comfortable in the seat next to Mike, but he is more apt to fill the broadcast with Clydeisms with one TV broadcast partner in particular: Knicks radio guy Tyler Murray.

Is this a case of causation of correlation? I would say it’s a little bit of both. Clyde called the fewest number of games next to Tyler Murray, including two of the three overtime games in our dataset. Clyde is also less likely to deviate from the action on the court when talking on the broadcast next to Tyler Murray (and more likely to deviate when talking next to Mike Breen). 

During his 80th birthday celebration broadcast on March 30, Clyde opened up like he often does while calling games with Mike Breen. He told stories, including the origin of his Clydeisms. Before making his way to TV, Clyde called games on the radio and had a tough time getting a word in next to the play-by-play guy. What emerged from that dilemma was Clyde inserting quick phrases to describe what was going on. Clyde also carried a dictionary with him every time he went and is a self proclaimed wordsmith. 

On that same broadcast, the final game in our dataset, Clyde credited Mike Breen for giving him more time to articulate and grow enough confidence to become the only person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and a broadcaster.

2014 to the Future

A lot has changed since 2014. I no longer live in New York and now watch Knicks games using League Pass. My favorite feature is being able to choose which broadcast I listen to. No disrespect to other broadcasters, but no one weaves & achieves through the highlight before commercials quite like Clyde. It’s poetry in motion. 

What’s next? 

Well let me start by saying Happy 80th Birthday, Clyde. You don’t look a day older than 40. It’s been an honor following your Hall-of-Fame broadcast career. The words you speak are truly impeccable not just because of their form and structure, but because of the truth that flows through them. 

I say we run it back like this season but with one modifier: keep Clyde at home while the Knicks go on the road. The network is already doing that for west coast road trips and the occasional road game, but I say we keep our guy planted in New York to drive & thrive in other areas of his life. 

Let’s also keep the mini-vacation after the All-Star break. 

However, there needs to be a Clyde’s Wine and Dine within walking distance of Madison Square Garden. I was heartbroken when I heard that the restaurant closed in 2021 due to the pandemic. Clyde has given us so much, let’s make this happen (wink wink, billionaire owner who we’ve grown to appreciate). 

For the Data Enthusiasts Like Me

Hey friends!! So I had a blast doing this project again and this time with the help of Kalil Nasrani. Kalil is a precious neophyte from NYC that reminds me of myself when I was in high school. When I did this project back during the 2013-2014 season, I was a sports analyst living in New York. Today, I’m an entrepreneur and professor living in North Carolina. What remains the same is my passion for basketball and mentoring youth like Kalil.

Kalil and I organized the data in this google sheet for you to enjoy looking through (and also know that we didn’t make this stuff up).

There is the *All Data* sheet which we used to track what Clydeism is said and then associated with them variables: Date, Month, Day, Game Start Time, Knicks Opponent, Home/Away, Clutch Game (Y/N), Blowout Game (Y/N), Game Outcome, Broadcast Partner, Quarter.

The one thing we didn’t add are timestamps within each quarter, but the Clydeisms are listed sequentially from start to end of quarter. 

We also created pivot tables that show the data sliced & diced in fun ways. If I may call your attention to the *Clutch Game* sheet which shows that Clyde lets them fly more in clutch games - which is defined as a game that has a 5 point or less difference at any point during the last 5 minutes of the game.

There’s also the increased usage at home and in wins, which makes sense since the Knicks do lots of winnin’ & grinnin’ at the world’s most famous arena. 

Get in the Game

We did not collect data for the month of April, and we challenge you to go ahead and track Clydeism stats while watching or rewatching a Knicks game. Feel free to reach out to me at chijioge.nwogu@gmail.com and we’ll get you started with the data for April 1st. It’s a super fun way to watch a game and the possibilities are endless for creating games within the game (over/under for how many times Clyde will say your favorite Clydeism, predictions for how many he’ll say in a certain quarter). 

Enjoy and be sure to give us a shout out. 

With gratitude, 
Chi & Kalil