Rick Barry

The only player to lead the NCAA, ABA, and NBA in scoring in a season.

Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. Barry ranks among the most prolific scorers and all-around players in basketball history. He is the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA, and NBA in points per game in a season. He ranks as the all-time ABA scoring leader in regular season (30.5 points per game) and postseason (33.5) play, while his 36.3 points per game are the most in NBA Finals history.

Quick Facts

Points per game: 30.6
Regular season record: 48–34

Lore & Background

Barry is widely known for his unorthodox underhand free throw technique. His career .880 free throw percentage ranks No. 1 in ABA history, and his .900 percentage was the best of any NBA player at the time of his retirement in 1980. In 1987, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. In October 2021, Barry was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Barry is the father of former professional basketball players Brent Barry, Jon Barry, Drew Barry, Scooter Barry, and Canyon Barry. His wife, Lynn Norenberg Barry, was a star basketball player at the College of William & Mary, where she became the first female athlete to have her jersey number (22) retired.

Reader's Guide

Barry was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors with the second pick of the NBA draft. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 25.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in the 1965–66 season. He later played for the Oakland Oaks, Washington Caps, and New York Nets in the ABA, leading the Oaks to the 1969 ABA championship. He averaged a league-high 34.0 points per game in his ABA debut. His 52 points in Game 7 of the 1970 Western Division semifinals set a new ABA record for points in a playoff game and remains the most points scored in a seventh and deciding game in professional basketball history.