Dick Barnett

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Richard Barnett (October 2, 1936 – April 27, 2025) was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Syracuse Nationals, Los Angeles Lakers, and New York Knicks. He won two NBA championships with the Knicks. Barnett was also a member of the Cleveland Pipers in the American Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Tennessee A&I State Tigers. Barnett was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.[1]

Early years, family and education

Barnett was born in Gary, Indiana, on October 2, 1936.[2] He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in a segregated society. His father was a steel worker, and his mother worked at a candy store.[2] As a youth, Dick Barnett found work at a steel mill as well as making deliveries.[3]

He struggled as a student at school, but he became one of the best basketball players in the state of Indiana. His senior year, he led his team to the state basketball championship, which was the first final where two predominantly African American basketball squads faced each other. The team lost to Crispus Attucks High School and their future NBA star Oscar Robertson. He received All-state honors.

Barnett attended Tennessee A&I State College (now Tennessee State University), a historically black school.[2] He did not graduate from there,[2] but later he earned his bachelor's degree from Cal Poly Pomona.[4] Years later, he earned an MBA from New York University and then a PhD in education from Fordham University.[2]

College athletic career

Barnett accepted a basketball scholarship from Tennessee A&I State College (now Tennessee State University), to play under coach John McLendon.[2] As a freshman, he was given the nickname "Dick the Skull". He was known for his trademark "question mark" jump shot, with an unusual technique of kicking his legs back[3] as he released the ball with his left hand, taunting the defenders by saying, "Too late; Fall back baby".[5]

He became a three-time Associated Press Little College All-American, helping the Tigers to a 36-game winning streak and three consecutive National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championships. He received back-to-back most valuable player honors in the 1958 and 1959 NAIA tournaments.[6] Tennessee A&I became the first historically black college to win an integrated men's basketball title.[6][7]

Barnett graduated as the school's All-time scorer with 3,209 points for a 23.6 average in 136 games, while also recording 1,571 career rebounds for an 11.6 average, a career shooting percentage of 44.8 and 80.0 from the free throw line.

In 1986, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. In 1990, the school retired his No. 12 Jersey. In 1993, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, along with his coach John McLendon.[8] In 2012, he was named to the NAIA 75th Anniversary All-Star Team. In 2016, he was inducted into the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame.[9] In 2019, the 1957–59 Tennessee A&I Tigers men's basketball team was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional basketball career

Syracuse Nationals

Barnett was selected by the Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers) in the first round (4th overall) of the 1959 NBA draft. He was used in a sixth man role behind guards Larry Costello and Hal Greer.[3] As a rookie, he averaged 12.4 points per game. In the 1960–61 season, he scored 16.9 points, which ranked seventh among the league's backcourt players.

Cleveland Pipers

In 1961, he signed with the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League (ABL), which were owned by George Steinbrenner (the future owner of the New York Yankees) and coached by John McLendon. He was a part of the 1961–62 ABL Championship team.

On December 21, 1961, the Nationals won a court order barring him from playing that season in the rival American Basketball League.[10]

Los Angeles Lakers

On September 7, 1962, the Syracuse Nationals sold his player rights to the Los Angeles Lakers, for $35,000,[3] which at the time was the highest player-for-money transaction in league history.[11] He was also used in a sixth man role with the Lakers, behind Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. He helped the team win the Western Division title after West missed 27 games with a leg injury.

Famous Laker announcer Chick Hearn nicknamed him "Fall Back Baby". He averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists during his three seasons with the team.

New York Knicks

On October 14, 1965, Barnett was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Bob Boozer and cash considerations.[12] In his first season, he led the team in scoring with a 23.1 average. In 1968, he made his only All-Star appearance.

In 1970, he helped the Knicks beat the Lakers for the NBA title. In 1973, he contributed to the team winning a second championship against the Lakers. He was released on October 23, 1973.[13] He scored 15,358 regular season points in his career. In 1990, the Knicks retired his No. 12 jersey in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.

Career after athletics

Barnett taught Sports Management at St. John's University in New York City from 2003[14] to 2007.[15]

In the media

Barnett was the subject of the 2022 documentary film The Dream Whisperer which chronicles the Tennessee A&I Tigers teams that won three NAIA basketball championships between 1957 and 1959.[16]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1959–60 Syracuse 57 – 21.7 .412 – .711 2.7 2.8 – – 12.4
1960–61 Syracuse 78 – 26.5 .452 – .712 3.6 2.8 – – 16.9
1962–63 L.A. Lakers 80* – 31.8 .471 – .815 3.0 2.8 – – 18.0
1963–64 L.A. Lakers 78 – 33.6 .452 – .773 3.2 3.1 – – 18.4
1964–65 L.A. Lakers 74 – 27.4 .413 – .799 2.7 2.1 – – 13.8
1965–66 New York 79 – 34.5 .469 – .772 4.1 3.5 – – 23.1
1966–67 New York 67 – 29.4 .478 – .783 3.4 2.4 – – 17.0
1967–68 New York 81 – 30.7 .482 – .780 2.9 3.0 – – 18.0
1968–69 New York 82 – 36.0 .463 – .774 3.1 3.5 – – 17.6
1969–70† New York 82* – 33.8 .475 – .714 2.7 3.6 – – 14.9
1970–71 New York 82 – 34.7 .456 – .694 2.9 2.7 – – 15.5
1971–72 New York 79 – 28.6 .437 – .753 1.9 2.5 – – 12.2
1972–73† New York 51 – 10.1 .389 – .533 0.8 1.0 – – 3.8
1973–74 New York 5 – 11.6 .385 – .667 0.8 1.2 0.2 0.0 4.4
Career 971 – 29.8 .456 – .761 2.9 2.8 0.2 0.0 15.8
All-Star 1 0 22.0 .583 – .500 0.0 1.0 – – 15.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1960 Syracuse 3 – 21.3 .316 – .857 4.7 1.3 – – 10.0
1961 Syracuse 8 – 28.3 .438 – .722 4.5 1.5 – – 15.5
1963 L.A. Lakers 13 – 28.5 .470 – .794 2.9 1.6 – – 16.8
1964 L.A. Lakers 5 – 30.8 .404 – .844 1.6 3.4 – – 13.8
1965 L.A. Lakers 10 – 28.7 .480 – .795 3.0 3.3 – – 17.5
1968 New York 6 – 35.2 .521 – .724 4.5 3.5 – – 23.8
1969 New York 10 – 40.2 .399 – .685 3.5 2.7 – – 16.7
1970† New York 19 – 37.6 .468 – .776 2.1 3.4 – – 16.9
1971 New York 12 – 37.9 .477 – .698 3.2 3.0 – – 19.5
1972 New York 12 – 10.9 .469 – .417 0.7 0.8 – – 4.3
1973† New York 4 – 4.3 .500 – – 0.0 0.5 – – 1.5
Career 102 – 29.7 .458 – .748 2.7 2.4 – – 15.1

Personal life and demise

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On April 27, 2025, it was announced that Barnett had died overnight in his sleep in a senior living center in Largo, Florida, at age 88.[2][17]

See also

References

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External links

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  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Northwest Indiana native Dick Barnett article at LakeNet website
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