Rick Barry

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.

In Their Own Story

The playoffs tested the team's resolve immediately. After defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in six games to reach the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors faced a daunting challenge against their former teammate Nate Thurmond and the Chicago Bulls. The series turned into a brutal battle of wills as the Warriors found themselves down 3–2. Refusing to fold, the team rallied to win Game 6 in Chicago. They completed the comeback with an 83–79 victory in Game 7 at Oakland. In the NBA Finals, they faced the Washington Bullets, sweeping the series in four straight games. The finals were tight, featuring 1-point wins in both Games 2 and 4, cementing Rick Barry's status as the Finals MVP.

Reader's Guide

Barry was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors with the second pick of the NBA draft. In his pro debut, the team more than doubled its wins total from 17 to 35. Nicknamed the 'Miami Greyhound' by broadcaster Bill King, 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. He moved to the ABA's Oakland Oaks, signing for a salary of $75,000 along with 15 percent ownership of the Oaks and 5 percent of gate receipts above $600,000. The courts ordered Barry to sit out the 1967–68 season, upholding the reserve clause in his Warriors contract. In his ABA debut (1968–69), he averaged a league-high 34.0 points per game. He tore left knee ligaments on December 27, 1968, and sat out the remainder of the season. The Oaks won the ABA title in 1969. Barry played the 1969–70 season with the Washington Caps, finishing with 1,442 points (27.7 per game). He was traded to the New York Nets in 1970, leading the league in scoring (29.4 points per game) in the 1970–71 season.

Did You Know?

• Barry is the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA, and NBA in points per game in a season.
• His 36.3 points per game in the 1975 NBA Finals are the second-highest average in NBA Finals history, behind Michael Jordan's 40.8 in 1993.
• Barry brought a landmark court action against the NBA in 1971, following Curt Flood's 1969 challenge against Major League Baseball.
• He scored 52 points in Game 7 of the 1970 Western Division semifinals, the second-most points in a seventh and deciding game in professional basketball history, behind Julius Erving's 53 in the ABA and Kevin Durant's 50