National Basketball Association

Ex-Knick star Walt Frazier sees '3' a reason for Steph Curry's amazing run

Published Mar. 3, 2016 6:22 p.m. ET

foxsports

As Stephen Curry continues to treat the rest of the NBA like a child's plaything, an increasing number of the league's old timers have stepped up to offer nostalgic takes on how players in their day would have stopped the defending MVP.

Last week it was Oscar Robertson who blamed bad coaching and lax defenses for Curry's dominance, and now Walt Frazier has become the latest golden-ager to join the chorus, claiming he would force the Golden State Warriors' superstar off the 3-point line and make Curry beat him inside.

As evidence of his ability to do that, Frazier, a seven-time, All-Star during a 13-year career spent largely with the New York Knicks, pointed to other all-time greats he was able to contain during his playing days.

"Defense was my forte," Frazier said during an appearance on "Mike & Mike" on Thursday. "I had to guard Oscar. I had to guard Jerry West, Earl the Pearl (Monroe), Dave Bing. Any phenomenal player, I had to guard that guy. So when I'm guarding these guys, I'm trying to take away what they do best.

"So today if I'm guarding Curry he might have 25 2s on me," the longtime Knicks broadcaster continued. "But he's not going to have 13 3s because I'm going to be forcing him inside of the arc. This is what former players are saying. How do you let a guy continue to do what he does when you know what he's trying to do is make the 3-point shot?"

Further, Frazier hypothesized that Curry might be a different player altogether if not for the convenience of the 3.

"Let's say you take away the 3-ball," said Frazier, who appeared in three career games after the NBA added the 3-point line in 1979. "If there was no 3-ball shot would we be talking about the greatness of Curry today? What has made him great is his uncanny ability to shoot from 30 feet, 35 feet, the accuracy that he's shown in making that particular shot."

In fairness to Frazier, he was highly complimentary of Curry throughout the interview -- implying more that he could force Curry to change his approach, not necessarily stop him -- but during his parting thoughts, in response to a follow-up about Robertson's original comments, Frazier intimated that Curry's level of play is not sustainable long-term.

'I don't know if he'll ever reach this level again,' Walt Frazier said about Curry.

"To me, I look at the most phenomenal seasons in the NBA," Frazier told hosts Ryen Russillo, Danny Kanell and Mike Golic. "Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50 points a game one season. Nate Archibald led the league in scoring and assists. The Big O averaged a triple double. But they didn't do that every year. You know what I mean? They never reached that pinnacle once they did that.

"So to me, this is where Curry is," Frazier continued. "He's having that phenomenal season -- to me, a signature season. But is he going to do this for the next five years? You know, I don't really think so. So I don't know if he'll ever reach this level again.

"This is what he's doing now," he added. "Maybe they won't be able to stop him this year, but they'll have to find a way to contain this guy like they've done to Kobe (Bryant), like they're doing to LeBron (James), like they've done with all of the other superstars in the league."

Wonder what Golden State coach Steve Kerr will have to say about this one?