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Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

By Josh Cornelissen

Kobe Bryant (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 29 – Rick Barry

On NBA 50 at 50 List

Career: 1965 – 1980

Achievements: 1975 NBA champion; All-NBA/ABA (10x); All-Star (12x); Finals MVP; All-time ABA team; 24 in career scoring

Rick Barry took one of the more unusual routes to a Hall of Fame career that you will see. He started his career on the San Francisco Warriors, including dropping an insane 35.6 points per game in 1966-67 in his second season. Then he flipped over to the ABA for four seasons, averaging over 30 points per game for two franchises.

Then he was back with the now “Golden State” Warriors and ripped off six straight All-Star seasons. Barry was one of the league’s best shooters, with a smooth shot and lethal accuracy from the free-throw line. He led the league in free-throw accuracy seven times, and for his career shot 90 percent from the line in the NBA.

In the 1974-75 seasons things came together for Barry and the Warriors, and he averaged 28.2 points per game in the playoffs as they won the NBA Finals, sweeping the Washington Bullets in the process. Barry was an elite offensive player who took advantage of competing leagues to make the best of both worlds throughout his career.