Rick Barry
(Born 1944)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1987
Card Shown:
2009-10 Panini Hall of Fame
Famed Signatures
Position: SF
Height: 6’7″
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Rick Barry was a fierce competitor and top scorer who flourished in his professional basketball career in both the NBA and the ABA. Known for his offense, Rick became a solid defender and a very good passer, averaging nearly five assists per game from the forward position during his career. Barry led his teams to two championships, one in the ABA and one in the NBA. He was also known for his unique free throw style that he used to become one of the best free throw shooters in basketball history.
Awards and Honors
- Rick was named the NBA Rookie of the Year following the 1965-66 season.
- Barry is the only player to lead the NCAA, the NBA, and the ABA in scoring. Rick led the NCAA in 1965 at 37.4 points per game in his senior year at the University of Miami. In 1966-67 he led the ABA with 35.6 ppg while playing for the San Francisco Warriors. Barry finished his four-year ABA career as that league’s leading career scorer, pouring in 30.5 ppg.
- In his first year in the ABA, Rick led the Oakland Oaks to the 1969 ABA Championship and finished second in the Most Valuable Player voting to Mel Daniels of Indiana.
- Rick led the Golden State Warriors to the 1975 NBA Championship and was named the Finals MVP. He averaged 30.6 points per game during the regular season. Jamaal Wilkes was the second leading scorer on that team.
- Beginning in his rookie season, Barry was named an All-Star for 12 consecutive seasons in which he played professional basketball. In 1967-68, Rick was barred from playing in the ABA for legal reasons as he made a jump from the NBA to the ABA.
- Rick was selected First Team All-NBA five times and First Team All-NBA four times during his career.
- In 1996, Barry was chosen to be part of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of All Time.
Points of Interest
- Barry is well-known for his iconic underhand free-throws, which he made at an astonishing rate. A career 89.3% shooter from the charity stripe, Rick led the ABA in free throw percentage once and the the NBA six times. His best year from the stripe was in 1978-79 when he shot 94.7% and only missed nine free throws during the season.
- On March 26, 1974, Rick had the best scoring total of his career. He tallied 64 points, 45 in the second half, against the Portland Trail Blazers. At the time, Barry was only the third player in league history to score over 63 points. Wilt Chamberlain (15 times) and Elgin Baylor (2 times) were the other two.
- After his playing career, Barry spent some time as a broadcaster. He sometimes worked with Bill Russell, creating a duo that was not afraid to share their opinions.
- Rick has five sons who were also skilled basketball players – Scooter, Jon, Drew, Brent, and Canyon. All five played college basketball and Jon and Brent spent time playing in the NBA.
Statistics
Rick Barry Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com
Personal Autograph Interactions
At the 2020 Hall of Fame Induction weekend, Joshua and I were fortunate to meet Rick Barry on two separate occasions. On our first night at the Mohegan Sun we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and noticed Rick and his wife eating their meals at the tables located outside the restaurant. We hadn’t brought a Rick Barry card with us, not knowing that he would be in attendance. So instead, we asked him if we could take a picture with him. Rick kindly agreed and his wife took the photo of us that you see below.
Later in the weekend, we remembered that we had brought blank autograph cards with us and we saw Rick in the Mohegan Sun lobby. He signed our cards for us with a beautiful signature and added the “HOF 1987” inscription.
Thank you, Rick!
In-Person Autograph Photos
