Brent Robert Barry (born December 31, 1971 in
Hempstead, New York) is an American professional
basketball player in the National Basketball
Association (NBA), who currently plays for the San
Antonio Spurs. The 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), 210 lb (95
kg/15 st) shooting guard was selected out of Oregon
State University by the Denver Nuggets with the 15th
overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, but was traded
shortly after to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Barry is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry, and is
arguably the best player of the four
basketball-playing Barry sons, the others being
Scooter, Jon and Drew. Brent, the second youngest,
played his high school basketball at athletic
powerhouse De La Salle High School in Concord,
California before receiving a basketball scholarship
to play at Oregon State University. Barry earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology while in
college.
He has played professionally for the Los Angeles
Clippers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Seattle
SuperSonics and San Antonio Spurs and won two NBA
Championships with the Spurs, in 2005 and 2007. He
also won the 1996 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He is known
by his nickname "Bones".
He was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the first
round (15th pick) of the 1995 NBA Draft before being
traded to the Los Angeles Clippers where he would go
on to average 1.4 three-point field goals made per
game, 3.7 three-point field goal attempts per game
and 2.8 three-point field goals made per 48 Minutes.
He won the Slam Dunk Contest in the NBA All-Star
Weekend in 1996 with a Julius Erving-inspired slam
dunk in which he took off from the free throw line
to sail in and dunk one-handed.
In the summer of 2004, Barry was signed as a free
agent by the San Antonio Spurs. After spending most
of the season as a back up, Barry was inserted into
the starting lineup during the first round of the
2005 NBA Playoffs; the Spurs' new lineup helped them
come back from a 0–1 series deficit to beat the
Nuggets in the series four games to one. Later in
those same playoffs, Barry earned his first
championship ring when the Spurs defeated the
Detroit Pistons in the 2005 NBA Finals.
Brent and his father, Rick Barry, are only the
second father-son duo to each win an NBA
Championship as a player; the first was Matt Guokas,
Sr. and his son Matt Guokas, Jr.
Brent Barry is generally considered a good passer,
and has had three seasons where he averaged more
than 5 assists per game. Barry is also a strong
three-point shooter; he currently ranks 10th
all-time in career three-point field goals made and
has shot 40% from behind the arc for his career.
These two strengths, combined with Barry's 6 ft 7 in
frame, allows him to play a variety of positions,
including point guard, shooting guard, and small
forward; because he is taller than most point
guards, he is often considered a point forward when
he is running the offense.
Brent Barry ranks #2 in the NBA in three-point field
goals per 48 minutes (3.75). He ranks #4 in the NBA
in three-point field goal percentage (0.407), ranks
#43 in the NBA in three-point field goal attempts
(208.0), and ranks #22 in the NBA in three-point
field goals made (95.0) as of March 1, 2007. His
highest season score in a game was 31, which
occurred twice in his career. In June 2007 he won
his second NBA championship ring when the Spurs
swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0.
In January of 2008, Barry tore his right calf
muscle. On February 20, 2008, (not too long after
his injury) Barry, along with Francisco Elson and a
2009 first round draft pick, was traded by the San
Antonio Spurs to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange
for forward/center Kurt Thomas. Barry was waived the
following day by the Sonics. After a mandatory
30-day waiting period, he re-signed with San Antonio
on March 24, 2008.
