Top 25 Golden State Warriors in franchise history
3. Rick Barry
Rick Barry is in the upper echelon of basketball players. He was unconventional and it absolutely worked for him. That’s why he’s third on this list.
Barry did it all during his eight NBA seasons with the Warriors, on both sides of the Bay. He averaged 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.3 steals on over 45 percent shooting. He was elite on both ends of the floor.
He was an All-Star in each of his eight seasons, winning All-Star MVP in 1967. Barry was the Rookie of the Year and the scoring champ in his second season in the league after averaging 35.6 points per contest. He would be on the All-NBA First Team five times and Second Team once.
The 6’7 Barry was a prolific scorere, from nearly anywhere on the court. Where he truly excelled was at the free-throw line. His unconventional underhanded free throw looks silly, but it worked a lot. He’s one of the greatest free-throw shooters ever, hitting 89.6 percent of his freebies as a Warrior. For critics, his form is the go-to solution to a current player’s struggles.
What really makes Barry such a special figure in Warriors history is his work in bringing the team a championship. He failed in 1976, averaging 40.8 points per game in that series, but he lost to the Philadelphia 76ers. In the 1974-75 season, he averaged 30 points per game with league highs in steals (2.9) and free-throw percentage (90.2 percent). Then he won Finals MVP as the Warriors upset the favorite Washington Bullets in four games.
The Warriors retired “24” to honor the great Barry. He was a stellar player that, despite being hot-headed sometimes, brought it. He was a fantastic scorer who could do everything else on the court as well. He’s near the top in so many categories on the franchise leaderboards, including second in points per game.
Barry is an NBA legend for his style of play and his results thus making this an easy call.