Warriors Rankings: Does Harrison Barnes Deserve a Spot in the Top 100?

Continuing our coverage of Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 NBA players for the 2015-16 season, we now turn to the only Golden State Warriors’ starter not to have a spot on the list: Harrison Barnes. Despite having a career year and showing a drastic improvement over his nightmare sophomore season, the Warriors’ swingman missed the cut and was instead featured in SI’s list of snubs.

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Were they correct to leave him out of the Top 100?

First off, I’ll admit that Barnes is a difficult player to assess. It’s no secret that he is vastly talented, has the prototypical NBA wing body, and plays well in the role that the Warriors put him in. However, the criticisms surrounding Barnes is his lack of initiative in games at times, and the overwhelming feeling that we are yet to see the best of him. Some may argue that his role on the Warriors is limiting his ability, while others counter with the fact that Barnes simply isn’t ready for a bigger one and that this is the best thing for him at this stage of his career.

One of the biggest factors in Barnes’ favour is that next season could be a contract year for him. Players are notorious for playing better in a contract year, eager to convince suitors to offer bigger contracts. Since the Top 100 list is a prediction of the next year’s players, it stands to reason that Barnes’ status as a contract year player should escalate his case to be featured on the list.

According to SI’s Ben Golliver, the reasoning behind Barnes’ snubbing was his “middle-of-the-pack” status for the Warriors. Interpreting this, it seems as though Barnes was penalized for not playing a bigger role for the Warriors – which does make sense, to an extent. Looking at some of the other names on the list, it seems as though SI prioritized players with bigger roles despite (arguably) being less talented: Lou Williams (92), Amir Johnson (89), Isaiah Thomas (88), Deron Williams (83).

This goes back to my admission: Barnes is a difficult player to assess. His smaller role on the Warriors is in large part due to the talent the Warriors have on the starting lineup. With all five players being able to handle the ball, there’s little need for Barnes to create shooting opportunities. In fact, most of the Warriors’ shots come from set plays that feature quick passes, which further decreases the need for Barnes to handle the ball.

However, Barnes excels in the role the Warriors play him in. He shot 40.5 percent from behind the arc (including 58.5 percent from the right corner) and 59.3 percent at the rim – all at above league average rates. He was third in rebounds per game for the Warriors, and was responsible for going up against key opposing small forwards like Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James.

If the main argument against Barnes making the Top 100 is that he doesn’t play a big enough role for the Warriors, then he deserves to be left off the list. But doing so would be a travesty and should be considered a faulty method of assessing who the best 100 players of next season are. With Barnes’ contract year and another offseason of improving his game, it’s highly likely that he is considered one of the best 100 players by the end of next season.

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