Like father, like son: Rick and Brent Barry

Sometimes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In OlyBetTV’s new series, we look at the best father-son duos in basketball.

• The first part was about Arvydas and Domantas Sabonis. Read it HERE
• The second one talked about Dino and Andrea Meneghin. Read it HERE

Rick Barry’s career puts him in an exclusive club. Alongside Tom Thacker, Julius Erving, and Bill Melchionni, he is only one of four players who won the NBA and its rival, the ABA, before the leagues merged in 1976.

However, Barry’s heart did not beat to the rhythm of basketball in childhood but rather to baseball. Yes, the now 80-year-old legend started playing hoops in the fifth grade, but he was better at baseball, and his sports idol was New York Giants superstar Willie Mays, not someone shining on the basketball court.

Eventually, Barry decided to focus on basketball; in hindsight, it was the right choice.

Barry, whose scoring prowess garnered nationwide attention at the University of Miami, entered the NBA like he had played there for several years.

In his debut season, 1965/66, the San Francisco Warriors (today’s Golden State Warriors) forward was named the league’s best rookie. He averaged 25.7 points and 10.6 rebounds and led the Warriors to 35 wins, a vast improvement compared to the previous season when they won just 17 games.

Barry’s remarkable debut season was just a prelude to what was to come. In the 66/67 season, he averaged 35.6 points per game in the regular season and led the Warriors to the Finals, where they battled hard with the Philadelphia 76ers, whose key player was none other than Wilt Chamberlain…

Although the Warriors lost 2-4 and Barry struggled with a left knee injury that required injections on game days, one of the most versatile offensive players in NBA history was so good that, according to Chamberlain, the 76ers used three different players to stop him because “he ran them all ragged.”

Notably, Barry averaged 40.8 points in that series, an NBA record for 26 years until Michael Jordan raised the bar to 41. In the 21st century, Shaquille O’Neal was closest to the record in the 2001/02 season (36.3 points).

As strange as it sounds, Barry skipped the following season. The issue wasn’t his knee injury but his desire to join the ABA team Oakland Oaks because Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli owed him money.

Labeled a traitor and greedy, Barry needed court permission to play for Oaks since he had a valid contract with the Warriors. The court did not side with him, and the first major star to switch to the ABA spent the season as part of their broadcasting team.

Known for his underhanded free throws, Barry stayed in the ABA for four seasons, dominated, and returned to the NBA in 1972, burying the hatchet and rejoining the Warriors. Although he wasn’t as prolific in scoring as during his first two seasons, Barry remained one of the league’s best players and led the Warriors to their third NBA title in 1975.

This was the last before the dynasty of Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and others started in 2015.

Barry hung up his sneakers at 36, leaving the NBA as one of its greatest scorers with 25,279 points, which could have been much higher had he not missed five seasons.

Barry’s son was ahead of his time

All five of Barry’s sons tried to make it in basketball. Three reached the NBA, with Brent being the only one to leave a significant mark. His 14-season-long career is best remembered for winning the 1996 Slam Dunk Contest.

However, what he showed there was just a tiny part of his arsenal.

The NBA consensus is that Brent Barry was never a star or close to it. However, the American had a much better career than his average of 9.3 points per game suggests.

For example, Brent is a two-time NBA champion, winning titles with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and 2007. Yes, he wasn’t the team’s star, but he was a crucial part of the rotation, playing over 20 minutes per game in both seasons.

While his father is considered the first point forward—a forward who can initiate and direct offenses—in basketball, Brent was capable of fulfilling the same role. As a versatile player, he had no problem playing as a point guard, shooting guard, or small forward, depending on the need.

Moreover, Brent Barry was ahead of his time. He was a fantastic long-range shooter, even during an era when three-pointers were far less critical than they are today.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, his career three-point shooting percentage of 40.53 ranks 33rd in NBA history. Among others, he surpasses legendary shooters like Peja Stojakovic, Ray Allen, and Reggie Miller.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that many believe that Barry could be a star in today’s NBA, where versatile snipers are highly valued.

Let’s end with a fun fact. Barry’s playing career ended with the Houston Rockets, a club that became very significant to his family, as his father and brother Jon also hung up their sneakers there.

Indeed, sometimes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.