Harrison Barnes’ most memorable moments as a Warrior

4. Barnes in the community

Harrison Barnes embraced the Bay Area and explored what it had to offer.

Harrison Barnes will not be leaving the Bay Area on a high note.

Being replaced by Kevin Durant after playing some of the worst games of your career on the biggest stage makes for a tough breakup. For the most part, Warriors fans are glad to see him go. His lack of growth on the basketball court and the addition of a generational talent has turned Barnes into an enemy of sorts.

But he’s grown into a fine young man and it’s also important to embrace that.

Basketball players are still humans. Some of them seem to forget and feel they are above everything. Barnes, on the other hand, doesn’t. He fully immersed himself in the Bay Area, learning and adapting to the culture.

And not just Silicon Valley or the comfortable parts of the Bay Area, but everywhere. Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group went out with Barnes to the Oakland that he grew up in–places that were and still are rough.

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Not a lot of NBA athletes do that. His shortcomings as a basketball player shouldn’t overshadow the type of person that he is. It was really wonderful insight and we should be grateful that Thompson showed that to us.

He used social media to connect with fans. Barnes really dove into the Bay Area, its people, and its culture.

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