
After
the 1967 NBA Finals, Rick was courted by the fledgling American
Basketball Association, which was placing a team in the Bay Area.
The Oakland Oaks had hired Bruce Hale (Rick’s father-in-law
since 1965) to coach the club, and were dangling a $75,000 contract
and a cut of ownership if Rick agreed to jump leagues. The All-Star
told the Warriors and their owner, Franklin Mieuli, to give him
their best offer—he would have stayed had it been close
to the Oaks deal. But it wasn’t, so Rick became the first
major NBA star to join the ABA.
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Rick Barry, 1972-73
Topps
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JockBio.com:
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What did
you see as the pros and cons of jumping to the ABA?
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Rick
Barry:
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I loved playing
for Bruce Hale in college. He made the game fun. I actually did
not have fun my second year in the NBA. I was a scoring leader,
All-NBA player, MVP of the All-Star Game, almost won the title,
but it wasn’t fun.
I liked
Bill Sharman as a person, but as a coach he made the game a job
for me. It was the first time I felt like I was going to work
when I played basketball. He was relentless. He wanted everyone
to approach the game the way he had as a player with the Celtics,
when he was fanatical about practice and conditioning. We had
almost no days off and he was the one who started the morning
shoot around, which I can’t stand. I was playing 40-plus
minutes a game! It felt like a job. So the opportunity to join
the Oaks and play for the man who was now my father-in-law was
pretty appealing.
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Rick
was skewered by the press for being selfish and disloyal, but
he didn’t necessarily want to leave the Warriors. The feeling
was mutual. A heartbroken Mieuli hung jersey #24 in his office
and vowed to get his star back some day.
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JockBio.com:
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You took a lot
of heat for your decision. Was it fair?
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Rick
Barry:
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No. I was not
the callous person I was portrayed to be—the person without
values or loyalty. When the Oakland deal was on the table, I told
the Warriors to give me their best offer. I told Pat Boone and
the people there that if the Warriors came anywhere close to what
Oakland was offering, I would not leave. What has never come out
is that the Warriors did not do that. The offer they said they
made to me was actually the second offer. Their initial offer
was nowhere near what Oakland had offered. I don’t think
they believed I would leave. When I left Franklin’s office
that day I had tears in my eyes. And I was made out to be the
bad guy when the Warriors basically screwed up. They did not do
what I told them to do in order to keep me.
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There was a price
to pay for leaving the NBA. The Warriors contested Rick’s contract
in court, and a judge ruled that he was bound to the team for the 1967-68
season. Either he played for San Francisco, or no one at all. Rick stuck
to his guns, and spent the year doing TV work for the Oaks. He also suited
up as the point guard for the KYA hoops team (the Radio Wonders), feeding
the likes of Johnny Holliday (the play-by-play voice of the Maryland Terrapins
for the past 20 years) and Steve Sommers (a popular overnight host on
WFAN sports radio in New York). Without its star, Oakland stumbled to
a 22-56 record, the worst in the league.
The following
season, Alex Hannum took over for Hale and Rick became a one-man
publicity campaign for the ABA as he led the Oaks to 15 wins in
their first 17 games. Sixteen straight victories after that gave
Oakland an insurmountable lead in the West, and the team cruised
to the division title despite a knee injury that ended Rick’s
season. He still led the league in scoring and was named MVP,
but he was not good to go come playoff time. Incredibly, the Oaks
still captured the ABA championship. Prior to the season, the
team had picked up starters Doug Moe and Larry Brown from the
New Orleans Buccaneers, and rookie guard Warren Armstrong muscled
his way into the first five. Gary Bradds, Henry Logan and Jim
Eakins gave Hannum the league’s best bench. The Oaks survived
a tough series with the Denver Rockets, swept the Bucs in the
semifinals, then surprised the Indiana Pacers in a five-game final.
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JockBio.com:
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The
Oaks captured the ABA championship with you on the bench,
defeating a superb Indiana Pacers club. How good was Oakland
that year?
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Rick
Barry:
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We had
a lot of nice players on that team. Doug Moe and Larry Brown were
outstanding basketball players. Ira Harge did a nice job at the
center position, with Jim Eakins backing him up. Henry Logan,
who got hurt, backed up Brown at point guard. This kid was one
heck of a player. Gary Bradds was on that team, and we had another
guard named Rusty Critchfield, an outstanding player at Cal. And
we had Warren Armstrong, who became Warren Jabali. He was a tough
guy; there were no holds barred with him. Alex Hannum, who was
there my first year with Warriors, was the coach. We were the
essence of a team; it was a really appealing situation. It was
very disappointing for me to get hurt and not be a part of the
playoffs. That was tough to swallow.
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After
the 1968-69 campaign, the Oaks, in dire financial straits, were
purchased by Washington lawyer Earl Foreman. To save the struggling
franchise, he planned to move the team to D.C. Rick, however,
wanted nothing to do with the East Coast. With Mieuli desperate
to bring his former star back to San Francisco, he signed Rick
to a five-year contract worth $1 million. Now it was the ABA's
turn to take the game from the basketball court to the court room.
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JockBio.com:
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Your legal
hassles continued when the Oaks pulled up stakes and headed east,
to Washington.
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Rick
Barry:
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I had been given
a verbal commitment that I would not have to go if the franchise
left the Bay Area. I was told that I would be released from my
obligation and free to return to the Warriors. My attorneys told
me I needed to have it in writing or I could have a problem with
this. Naive me, I said it was okay. So I got the short end of
the stick and ended up having to go with the team to Washington,
D.C.
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Rick spent one season with the Washington Capitols, averaging 27.7 points—though
his knee kept him out of two dozen games. Injury problems also felled
Logan, Armstrong and George Carter, and the depleted Caps lost to Denver
in the first round of the playoffs. Fan interest in the team was practically
non-existent, so heading into the 1970-71 campaign, the team was uprooted
once again. This time the club would play as the Virginia Squires and
rotate between arenas in Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke and Hampton. Rick
decided enough was enough, and launched a campaign to get himself traded.
The ABA, fearful their biggest star might return to the NBA, stepped in
and brokered a deal between the Squires and the New York Nets.
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Rick Barry,
1970 Sports Illustrated
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JockBio.com:
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How did
you engineer the trade to the Nets?
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Rick
Barry:
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I figured if the press is going to screw me and write all
these things that aren’t true, I might as well use them to my
benefit. It worked beautifully. Sports Illustrated put me on the cover
and printed all the negative things I said about the area, which got
people upset. I didn’t mean those things and apologized for them
later. But it worked and got me out of a place I didn’t want
to be and shouldn’t have been. I went up to New York, which was
great, because I got a chance to do some TV, which opened up the doors
to do broadcasting work. I had a wonderful experience with the Nets
playing for Louie Carnasecca. To this day I keep in touch with him.
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Rick transformed the Nets into a championship contender. Point guard
Bill Melchionni blossomed into the league’s top assist man,
John Roche electrified fans with his fancy dribbling, and St. John’s
star Billy Paultz became one of the league’s best centers.
In the 1972 playoffs, the Nets upset the powerhouse Kentucky Colonels,
then edged the Squires in seven games to reach the finals—where
they lost to an excellent Pacers club in six games. In two years
with the Nets, Rick extended the range and accuracy of his jumper,
his assist totals rose, and he further developed his defensive
game.
After the 1971-72 campaign, Rick was compelled to change his address
once again. A California judge ruled that he had to honor the contract
he had signed with the Warriors three years earlier, so it was
back to San Francisco (where the team was now known as Golden State).
After two years reacquainting himself with the NBA, Rick had
a season for the ages in 1974-75. Expectations for the Warriors
were low heading into the campaign, given that the team had cleaned
house of veteran stars Nate Thurmond, Cazzie Russell, Clyde Lee
and Jim Barnett. Guard Jeff Mullins, now in his 30s, was relegated
to a supporting role. New to the team was center Clifford Ray
and rookies Keith Wilkes and Phil Smith. Rick, named team captain
by coach Al Attles, ran the show along with point guard Butch
Beard. Attles utilized a deep roster of interchangeable parts,
and guided the Warriors to a 48-34 record in the regular season.
Rick pumped in 30 points and dished out six assists per game.
In the playoffs, facing elimination in the Western Conference
Finals against Chicago, Golden State fought back to take the series
in seven games. That set up a showdown against the juggernaut
Washington Bullets for the title. No one gave the Warriors the
slightest chance of winning, but behind Rick's MVP performance,
they ambushed Elvin Hayes & co. in four games.
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JockBio.com:
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How do you explain the Warriors sweeping an opponent
that many believed would sweep the Warriors?
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Rick
Barry:
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There is no doubt in my mind that it was the biggest upset
in the history of the major professional team sports in this country.
I defy anyone to find anything like it. The answer to your question
is that everyone put their egos aside and accepted their roles
and responsibilities. We had two rookies in Jamaal Wilkes, known
as Keith then, who got Rookie of the Year, along with Phil Smith,
who got a lot of playing time and really came through in the playoffs.
Our coach, Al Attles, had the luxury of not having too big a difference
in quality between the fourth and fifth man and the tenth and
eleventh. If someone wasn’t playing well, he could put someone
else in. The guys all rooted for one another, too. Everyone cared
about winning and did whatever they could to win. It was an atmosphere
you’d like to see more professional teams have.
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JockBio.com:
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What turned the Warriors into a championship contender?
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Rick
Barry:
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Amazingly, the biggest difference was trading away a center
who was voted one of the league’s Top 50 All-Time, Nate
Thurmond, and picking up a guy who was the glue that held everyone
on the team together. That was Clifford Ray. He had been Rookie
of the Year with the Bulls, but when he came to the Warriors no
one expected him to have much impact. But it all came together
as soon as he came here. Clifford was smart. He really got to
know his teammates as people. In my case, he realized that I was
harmless—on the court I was in another world and what I
did or said on the court stayed on the court. There was nothing
personal. He told the other guys, “Look, Rick is crazy when
it comes to basketball. Whatever he says, don't take it to heart.
He doesn’t mean anything by it. He just wants to win and
he can help us win.”
Clifford was the person who convinced the team that we had
an opportunity to accomplish something very special—and
that part of that was to understand and tolerate me a little better.
Also, for the first time in my life I was voted captain of a team.
That meant a great deal to me. I felt like I had to go out and
lead by example. So, I went out and had my best all-around season
as a professional basketball player.
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Rick Barry, 1975-76
NBA Guide |
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JockBio.com:
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Was that the high point of your career?
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Rick
Barry:
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Definitely. That’s what it’s all about. Winning.
The way that it happened, in “Cinderella” fashion, with
the camaraderie, there’s nothing better. I wish I could have
had that experience more than one time in the NBA.
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Golden State was unable to defend its title the following year. After
posting the league's best record, the Warriors were surprised by
the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals. Though Rick's
scoring average for the 1975-76 campaign dropped by nine points,
he still earned his third straight nomination to the All-NBA First
Team. Critics blamed him for the defeat to the Suns, however, claiming
he had wilted under the pressure of the post-season.
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JockBio.com:
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Was the loss to Phoenix in 1976 the low point of your
career?
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Rick
Barry:
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It was a very disappointing thing. I did the finals for
CBS and I don’t think there was any way the Celtics would have
beaten us. Phoenix should have beaten them, except for a couple of
bad calls.
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JockBio.com:
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How did you lose that series?
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Rick
Barry:
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We altered the chemistry after the championship season and it
hurt us. Against the Suns, we made some tactical mistakes and
wound up losing a series we should have won. Had we still had
Butch Beard I believe we would have won a second championship.
It was sad. He was traded away because the GM, Dick Vertlieb,
couldn’t stand listening to Butch’s wife complain
to him all the time. To think that we lost the chance to repeat
because of that.
Butch really understood the game. When he was in the lineup,
there was never a time when I would go three or four minutes without
touching the ball. Butch always made sure to run the offense through
me.
After we gave away Game 6 of the Phoenix series, I had a
big first half in Game 7. But in the third quarter I hardly saw
the ball. Looking back, I should have been the pain in the ass
that everyone always thought I was, called a timeout and asked
my teammates, “What the hell is going on? Give me the damn
ball.” Years later, when I was coaching minor-league ball,
Darren Hancock had 26 points for our team in the first half, and
then he goes three minutes into the third quarter without touching
the ball. I called a 20-second timeout and brought the team in.
“Guys,” I said, “I’d like to introduce
you to Darren Hancock. He’s your teammate and scored 26
points in the first half. Do you think we could give him the ball?”
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Rick Barry,
1976 Sport |
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JockBio.com:
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You took some heat for the loss to the Suns, right?
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Rick
Barry:
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Yes, and it really hurt my feelings. Al McCoy, the Phoenix radio
announcer, had the audacity to say I got mad at my teammates and
quit on them. Anyone who knew me knew that Rick Barry always played
as hard as he could and did whatever he could to win—especially
with a chance to go to the NBA Finals. You had to be sick to believe
otherwise. It was an insult to me. What happened was that late
in the game, when the ball was finally coming to me, I didn’t
want to do what had gotten us in trouble during the second half,
which is going one-on-one and trying to do everything individually.
We began to work the ball around again, made a comeback and got
Phoenix’s lead down to four points. I ran a pick-and-roll
with Clifford Ray, but he missed the shot. The Suns came down and
Alvan Adams got a dunk that broke our backs. Had Clifford scored,
I think we would have won and made it to the finals.
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After two more solid seasons with Golden State, Rick became a free
agent. He signed with Houston, where he hoped to win another championship.
The Rockets were loaded, with Moses Malone, Rudy Tomjanovich, John
Lucas, Mike Newlin and Calvin Murphy. But Rick's experience in Houston
was unfulfilling. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs
in 1978-79, then lumbered through the following year and barely
qualified for the post-season. After an opening-round upset of the
San Antonio Spurs, the Rockets were sent home by Larry Bird and
the Boston Celtics.
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JockBio.com:
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What drew you to Houston?
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John Lucas & Rick
Barry,
1980-81 Topps |
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Rick
Barry:
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That was such
a joke. The only reason I went to Houston was because I saw a team
with a chance to win and I wanted a chance to play with John Lucas,
who was an outstanding point guard. I go over there and Ray Patterson,
the GM, gives Lucas to the Warriors as compensation for losing me.
I couldn’t believe it. It was crazy.
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JockBio.com:
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Some people say you invented the "point forward" position
with the Rockets.
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Rick
Barry:
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I actually
did that early in my career. In Houston, I ended up being totally
misused. I was playing like a point guard, standing 30 feet from
the basket passing the ball and only shot 12 or 13 times a game.
That team should have been so good. Even with John Lucas leaving
we should have been better. It was such a waste of talent it was
unbelievable. Murphy and Newlin should have shared the two-guard
position, Mike Dunleavy should have been used more and I should
have been utilized more effectively, along with Rudy Tomjanovich
and Moses Malone.
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