Rick Barry


Richard Francis Dennis Barry III is an American retired professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association, set the standard for pure scorers at the college and pro levels and was the driving force behind the greatest upset in NBA Finals history. Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in history by the NBA in 1996, he is the only player to lead the National Collegiate Athletic Association, ABA, and NBA in scoring for an individual season. Later in his career, Barry morphed into the first elite point forward, a newly coined term for those who combined the vision and passing skills of a point guard with the size and shooting ability of a small forward. He was known for his unorthodox but remarkably effective underhand free throw shooting technique, and at the time of his retirement in 1980, his.900 free throw percentage ranked first in NBA history. In 1987, Barry was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is the father of former professional basketball players Brent Barry, Jon Barry, Drew Barry, and Scooter Barry, and current professional player Canyon Barry.

Early years and college career

Barry grew up in Roselle Park, New Jersey, graduating from Roselle Park High School in 1962. Barry was an All-American basketball player for the University of Miami, where he starred for three seasons. While at Miami, Barry met his wife Pamela, the daughter of Hurricanes head coach Bruce Hale. As a senior in the 1964–65 campaign, Barry led the NCAA with a 37.4 points-per-game average. Barry and the Hurricanes did not take part in the NCAA Tournament, however, because the basketball program was on probation at the time. Barry is one of just two basketball players to have his number retired by the school.
Barry was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors with the second pick of the 1965 NBA draft.

Professional playing career

San Francisco Warriors

In Barry's first season in the NBA with the Warriors, the team improved from 17 to 35 victories. In the All-Star Game one season later, Barry erupted for 38 points as the West team stunned the East team, which featured Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell and head coach Red Auerbach among other all-time greats. Later that season, Barry and company extended the mighty Philadelphia 76ers to six highly competitive games in the NBA Finals, something that Russell and the Boston Celtics could not do in the Eastern Conference playoffs. That 76ers team remains known as one of the greatest in basketball history.
Nicknamed the "Miami Greyhound" by longtime San Francisco-area broadcaster Bill King because of his slender physical build and remarkable quickness and instincts, the 6'7" Barry won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 25.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in the 1965–66 season. The following year, he won the 1967 NBA All-Star Game MVP award with a 38-point outburst and led the NBA in scoring with a 35.6 point per game average — which still ranks as the eighth- highest output in league annals. Teamed with star center Nate Thurmond in San Francisco, Barry helped take the Warriors to the 1967 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. Including a 55-point outburst in Game 3, Barry averaged 40.8 points per game in the series, an NBA Finals record that stood for three decades.
Frustrated that he was not paid incentive money that he believed was due from Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli, Barry jumped to the ABA's Oakland Oaks, who offered him a lucrative contract and the chance to play for Bruce Hale, his then-father-in-law. The three-year contract from Pat Boone, the singer and team owner, was estimated to be worth $500,000, which would make him one of basketball's highest-paid players. The landmark deal also included a 15 percent share of the franchise, which led Barry to remark, "The offer Oakland made me was one I simply couldn't turn down." The courts ordered Barry to sit out the 1967–68 season before he starred in the ABA, however, upholding the validity of the reserve clause in his contract. He preceded St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Curt Flood, whose better-known challenge to the reserve clause went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, by two years as the first American major-league professional athlete to bring a court action against it. The ensuing public response cast Barry largely in a negative light, portraying him as selfish and money-hungry. However, numerous NBA players at the time were looking at jumping to the ABA for more lucrative contracts themselves. Barry would star in the ABA, twice averaging more than 30 points per game in a season.

Oakland Oaks

After the 1966–67 season, Barry became the first marquee NBA player to jump to the American Basketball Association when he signed with the Oakland Oaks. The Warriors went to court and prevented Barry from playing for the Oaks during the 1967–68 season. Barry instead worked on Oaks radio broadcasts during the ABA's first season.
No sooner did Barry return to action in the 1968–69 season than the Oaks made a quantum leap from worst to first, as their 60 victories were nearly three times that of the previous season, which they finished with a 22-56 record and out of the playoffs. He averaged a league-high 34.0 points per game to go with 9.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists to reclaim his status as the brightest young star in pro basketball. His.888 free-throw percentage also ranked first league-wide, a feat he would repeat in the 1970–71 and 1971–72 seasons.
On December 29, 1968, late in a game against the New York Nets, Barry collided with Ken Wilburn and tore ligaments in his left knee. The Western Division leaders went on to the game, their 28th in 32 starts. He tried to play again in January but aggravated the injury and sat out the rest of the season. Despite the health issue, which limited him 35 games, Barry was named to the ABA All-Star team. The Oaks finished with a record of 60-18, winning the division title by 14 games over the second-place New Orleans Buccaneers. In the 1969 ABA Playoffs, the Oaks defeated the Denver Rockets in a seven-game series then swept the New Orleans Buccaneers in the Western Division finals. In the league championship round, the Oaks made short work of the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 1 to secure the title.
In the ABA's debut season, the Oaks were the only team located in the same market as an NBA team, and despite their on-court excellence, they did not experience great success at the gate. The team averaged only 2,800 fans per home game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. Rather than remain in Oakland to build the fan base around Barry and a solid supporting cast, owner Pat Boone sold the franchise after only one season. The relocated to Washington, D.C., where it was renamed the Capitols.

Washington Caps

Barry played the 1969–70 season with the ABA's Washington Capitols. Yet another career move didn't appeal to Barry, who refused to report to the team, at one point commenting, "If I wanted to go to Washington, I'd run for president!" Furthermore, the team was part of the Western Division, which made for a grueling travel schedule. Contractually, Barry had no choice but to join the team and was in uniform for the regular-season opener, only to suffer a knee injury two games later.
Barry was eased into the line-up upon his return in late December, but it wasn't long before he was his former dominant self again. On March 1, he exploded for 55 points versus the Nuggets in Denver. Only days later, he embarked on an eight-game stretch in which he scored 45, 23, 42, 45, 32, 49, 47 and 47 points. Appearing in 52 games, he averaged 27.7 points per game, second best in the league. Despite the extended absences of Barry and star guard Warren Jabali, the Caps finished in third place with a 44-40 record and earned a playoff berth.
Barry was unstoppable in the postseason, which saw the Denver Rockets edge the Caps 4-3 in the Western Division semifinals. In the decisive game on the road, he went off for 52 points to become the first and currently only player to reach the 50-point mark in a Game 7 in either league.

Virginia Squires

The Washington Caps became the Virginia Squires after the 1969–70 season, but Barry was openly critical about playing with his fourth team in four seasons. At the same time, he wanted to continue playing in the ABA. Featured on the August 24, 1970 cover of Sports Illustrated in a Squires jersey, he indicated that he would not return to the NBA if the league paid him "a million dollars a year." He denounced the Squires, saying he did not want his kids growing up with a Southern accent. On September 1, 1970, the Squires traded Barry to the New York Nets for a draft pick and $200,000 so financially troubled Squires owner Earl Foreman could meet expenses.

New York Nets

After the Squires dealt Barry to the New York Nets, he played in only 59 games in the 1970–71 season because of a knee injury but still made the ABA All Star team. He repeated as an ABA All Star during the 1971–72 season. During the 1970–71 season he led the league in scoring and led the league again in 1971–72 with 31.5 points per game. In both of those years he also led the ABA in free throw percentage as he had in 1968–69. Barry also became the ABA record holder for most consecutive free throws in one game with 23.
In the 1970–71 season, the Nets finished 40-44, good for fourth place in the Eastern Division and a place in the 1971 ABA Playoffs. The Virginia Squires defeated the Nets 4 games to 2 in the Eastern Division semifinals. The 1971–72 Nets finished the season at 44-40, making the 1972 ABA Playoffs by claiming third place in the Eastern Division, 24 games behind the 68–16 Kentucky Colonels. In the Eastern Division semifinals the Nets shocked the ABA by defeating the Colonels 4 games to 2. The Nets then eked out a 4–3 game victory over the Virginia Squires in the Eastern Division finals. The Nets were then edged by the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 2, in the 1972 ABA Finals.
On June 23, 1972, a United States District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit Barry from playing for any team other than the Golden State Warriors after his contract with the Nets ended. On October 6, 1972, the Nets released Barry and he returned to the Warriors.

Golden State Warriors

Upon Barry's return to the NBA, the cumulative effects of knee problems were taking their toll. Barry gradually moved his game away from the basket, where he became the first to pioneer what would become known as the point forward position, which called on him to be a primary ball distributor in addition to a perimeter scorer. On March 26, 1974, Barry scored a career-high 64 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 143–120 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. At 44-38, the team failed to make the playoffs, however, at which time it had become apparent that more size and defense were needed on the front line to become a factor in the division race. Before the start of the 1974-75 campaign, the one-dimensional Cazzie Russell signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and versatile UCLA star Keith Wilkes was drafted in the first round to take his place.
In training camp, Barry was selected team captain by his teammates and he responded with the most rewarding season of his career. The Warriors captured the West Division crown while he averaged 30.6 points per game, led the league in free throw percentage and steals per game and ranked sixth in assists per game. Barry and company shocked the basketball world with a four-game sweep of Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and the heavily favored Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals, as he was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. The Bullets had posted a league-high 60 victories, 12 more than the Warriors total in the regular season, which prompted many so-called experts to predict that they would be the ones to sweep the series, not the other way around.
Prior to the 1975-76 campaign, the Warriors drafted Gus Williams to play point guard and began to utilize the talents of Phil Smith more at shooting guard. Barry's scoring average dipped to 21.0 points per game, but the Warriors finished with the NBA's best record at 59-23 and were heavy favorites to return to the NBA Finals. However, the Warriors were upset in the Western Conference finals by the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors won 46 games the next season with Barry, Smith, and Williams sharing the ball-handling role. On Nov. 30, Barry dished out 19 assists in a 125-120 victory over the Bulls in Chicago, the most by a forward in league history. In the playoffs, the Warriors were ousted in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers, as Barry and Williams reportedly clashed over the ball-handling role. Williams was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics after the season. Barry averaged 23.1 points per game in his final season with the Warriors, but the team did not make the playoffs and he left as a free agent for the Houston Rockets.

Houston Rockets

Barry ended his career with the Houston Rockets, playing through the 1979–80 NBA season. Barry was signed by the Rockets as a free agent before the 1978–79 season. The league awarded John Lucas to the Warriors as compensation. Now in the twilight of his career, he pioneered the "point forward" position as a ball distributor and three-point threat. Until the arrival of Larry Bird, Barry, John Havlicek, and Billy Cunningham were the only players in NBA history to pass for more than 500 assists while primarily playing the forward position. He averaged 13.5 points and set a new NBA record with a.947 free throw percentage for the season. He retired in 1980.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Later years

During the 1990s, he coached the Cedar Rapids Sharpshooters of the Global Basketball Association and the Continental Basketball Association, guiding the Fort Wayne Fury to a 19-37 win-loss record in 1993–94. In 1998 and 1999, he served as head coach of the New Jersey ShoreCats of the United States Basketball League. Former Warriors teammate Clifford Ray was his top assistant.
Barry finished second in his division at the 2005 World Long Drive Championship.
Barry is part owner and promoter for the Ektio basketball shoe, which doctor and former college basketball player Barry Katz designed to reduce ankle injuries. He also serves on the company's Board of Directors.

Broadcasting career

Barry was among the first professional basketball players to make a successful transition to the broadcasting profession. He began broadcasting during the 1967–68 season broadcasting Oakland Oaks games because of contractual matters that kept him off the court. Barry continues to work in the field, a career that began with his own radio show in San Francisco and CBS while still an active player and then with TBS.
While working as a CBS analyst during Game 5 of the 1981 NBA Finals, Barry made a controversial comment when CBS displayed an old photo of colleague Bill Russell, who is African-American, and Barry joked that "it looks like some fool over there with that big watermelon grin". Barry later apologized for the comment, claiming that he did not realize that a reference to watermelons would have racial overtones. Russell said that he believed Barry with regard to Barry's racial attitudes, but nonetheless, the two men are reported not to have been particularly friendly for other reasons, unrelated to that comment.
CBS did not renew Barry's employment for the subsequent season, with producers later citing the overall negative tone of Barry's game commentary. The next season, Barry did some broadcasting for the Seattle SuperSonics, however a plan for permanent employment fell through when Barry insisted that his then-wife be allowed to join him when the team was on the road, which would have been contrary to team policy. The next year, Barry was featured in a lengthy Sports Illustrated article written by Tony Kornheiser in which he lamented the failure of his broadcasting career to that point, as well as the fact that he'd left a reputation within NBA circles for being an unlikable person. After this, Barry worked with TBS and later on, TNT into the 1989–90 season, mostly as a color analyst but sometimes as a play-by-play announcer paired with Bill Russell. One of the more notable games Barry called as play-by-play announcer on TBS was Game 5 of the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, where Larry Bird made a last second steal which sealed the win and the Eastern Conference Championship for the Celtics. After the 1989–90 season, Barry became the color analyst for the Atlanta Hawks' games that aired on TBS, paired with Skip Caray.
In a rare non-sports venture, he hosted the pilot for the mid-1980s game show Catchphrase; however, when the series debuted in the fall of 1985, game show veteran Art James replaced him.
In September 2001, Barry began hosting a sports talk show on KNBR in San Francisco until June 2003, when KNBR paired him up with Rod Brooks to co-host a show named Rick and Rod. The show aired on KNBR until August 2006, when Barry left the station abruptly for reasons not disclosed to the public.

Personal life

Barry is of Irish, English, French, and Lithuanian descent. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
He has four sons and a daughter with his first wife Pam: Scooter, Jon, Brent, Drew and Shannon. All of Barry's sons were professional basketball players. Barry wrote an autobiography, Confessions of a Basketball Gypsy: The Rick Barry Story with Bill Libby that was published in 1972. He also has a son, Canyon, with his third wife, Lynn Barry, who is a professional player, playing for Chinese club Hunan Jinjian Miye in the 2018–19 season.
When his son Brent won the NBA Championship in 2005 with the San Antonio Spurs, Rick and Brent became the second father-son duo to both win NBA Championships as players, following Matt Guokas Sr. and Matt Guokas Jr.. Later, this would be repeated by Bill and Luke Walton, and Mychal and Klay Thompson.
Jon and Brent have also moved to broadcasting after retirement. Jon serves as a game analyst on ESPN while Brent worked as a studio and game analyst on TNT and NBA TV until 2018 when he took a job with the San Antonio Spurs to be vice president of basketball operations.
Scooter won titles in the CBA and the top Belgian League.

Career achievements

Regular season

Only player in history to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring
Youngest player to score 57 points in a game:

Playoffs

Scoring 30 or more points in all games, any playoff series: 6 games, vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1967 NBA Finals
Field goal attempts, 6-game series: 235, vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1967 NBA Finals
Field goal attempts, game: 48, vs. Philadelphia 76ers,
Field goal attempts, quarter: 17, at Philadelphia 76ers,
Steals, quarter: 4, second quarter, at Chicago Bulls,
Highest scoring average : 36.3
Scoring 30 or more points in all games, any championship series: 6 games, vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1967 NBA Finals
Field goals made, game: 22, vs. Philadelphia 76ers,
Field goal attempts, 6-game series: 235, vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1967 NBA Finals
Field goal attempts, game: 48, vs. Philadelphia 76ers,
Field goal attempts, quarter: 17, at Philadelphia 76ers,
Steals, 4-game series: 14, vs. Washington Bullets, 1975 NBA Finals

All-Star

Field goal attempts, game: 27
Steals, game: 8
Personal fouls, game: 6, twice
Disqualifications, career: 2