NBA Athlete Number 24 - Rick Barry

Rick Barry wore jersey number 24 for the large majority of his pro basketball career spent in the NBA and ABA.  Barry was taken with the second overall pick in the 1965 NBA draft by the San Francisco Warriors out of the University of Miami.

Barry was an immediate success as a rookie.  Playing in a full slate of 80 regular season games, Barry put up a tremendous 2,059 points.   That point total put him behind only Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson for the 1965-66 season.  It was more than enough to earn him the Rookie of the Year award.  He averaged 25.7 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game in his first NBA season.

His second NBA season would be more impressive than his first in some ways.  In particular, he led the NBA in scoring with 2,775 regular season points, as well as leading in free-throws with 753.  He would also help lead his Warriors into the NBA finals, losing in six games to the Philadelphia 76ers.

After two seasons spent in the NBA with the Warriors, Barry next moved onto the ABA and the Oakland Oaks.  He would play one season in Oakland before that franchise moved to Washington D.C. as the Washington Caps, who then became the Virginia Squires.

After being traded to the New Jersey Nets and spending two season with that team, Barry was back in the NBA, signing with the Golden State Warriors.  He would spend the next six seasons with that team, leading the NBA in free-throw percentage for three separate seasons, and once leading the league in steals. 

Barry would close out his NBA career with two season in Houston, and he would lead the league in free-throw percentage in both of those two seasons.

Some of Barry's combined NBA / ABA accomplishments:

• 1965-66 NBA Rookie of the Year
• 1974-75 NBA Finals MVP
• 9,695 career field goals
• .893 career free-throw percentage
• 25,279 career points
• 1,104 career steals
• Jersey number 24 retired by the Warriors
• Basketball Hall of Famer (1987)

Did you know...............Barry scored 64 points against the Trailblazers in 1974?

sources:  basketball-reference.com, wikipedia.com