Rick Barry

Rick Barry is a Basketball Hall of Fame member and one of the Top 50 NBA players of all-time. For over 30 years, he proved to be an accomplished sports broadcaster, having covered a wide range of sports on both radio and television. Rick is also the two-time World Champion in the Grand Champions Division, a one-time World Champion in the Legends Division and a one-time World Champion in the Masters Division of the ReMax World Long Driving Championships. Rick is now involved in a myriad of businesses.

Basketball Career

Rick Barry is one of the most celebrated players in NBA history — not only for his game, but also for the competitiveness he brought to the court.  In 1965, following a stellar collegiate campaign at the University of Miami (FL), Rick was drafted third in the first round of the NBA Draft by the San Francisco Warriors.  He quickly established himself as an elite player, garnered NBA Rookie of the Year honors, and was a member of the NBA All-Pro First Team.  The next season, Rick proved he was for real by leading the league in scoring (35.6 ppg), and being named MVP of the All-Star Game.  Once again, he was part of the NBA All-Pro First Team.

During his 14-year professional career, four in the ABA (Oakland, Washington and the New York Nets) and ten in the NBA (San Francisco, Golden State and Houston), Rick was a 12-time All-Star.  His deadeye jump shot was one of basketball’s most feared weapons and enabled him to become the only player in history to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring.  In 1975, Rick earned the NBA Championship Series MVP, leading the underdog Warriors to a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets to win the title.  In a combined ABA/NBA career, Rick tallied 25,279 points and received nine All-NBA/ABA First Team honors.  In 1987, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted Rick as a player, and in 1988; the Golden State Warriors retired his #24 jersey.  Rick is one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players.  His unorthodox underhanded free throw style enabled him to finish his career with the second best accuracy in the history of the NBA, 90%.

Broadcasting Career

Rick began his broadcasting career after his rookie season.  He was the morning drive-time sports reporter on KNBR radio in San Francisco.  His articulate style and insightful perceptions provided a refreshing and honest view of sports.  After moving to the Oakland Oaks of the ABA, Rick began doing television work as a color analyst for college basketball games telecast on KTVU in Oakland, as well as providing sports commentary on a local radio station.

Rick’s next broadcasting experience came in New York City, when he played for the NY Nets.  During the off-seasons, he worked as the weekend sports reporter for the local ABC-TV station.  During the week, he also filled in for the six and eleven PM sports reporters, Frank Gifford and Jim Bouton.  Rick even branched out into non-sporting event broadcasting, hosting NBC’s Monitor Radio program on several occasions.

Rick eventually returned to play for the Warriors and in his off-seasons, he provided color analyst for the nationally broadcasted NBA games on ABC-TV. Later he did both play-by-play and analyst work for the NBA games broadcasted by CBS-TV. Rick also covered a variety of sports, including track and field, swimming, diving, rodeo and even weightlifting and bodybuilding.

When TBS and then TNT began broadcasting NBA games, Rick became part of their broadcast team and did both play-by-play and color analyst work.  He also covered other sports as part of Turner’s Goodwill Games in Moscow and Seattle.

While living in the Seattle area, Rick served as the color analyst for the SuperSonics NBA games. He then moved to Los Angeles and did local sports at night for one of the independent TV stations. Finally, for two years he served as both the NBA studio analyst and game analyst for CTV in Canada as part of their NBA game of the week, which ended when the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis.

For five years, Rick was host of the Rick Barry Show on KNBR radio in San Francisco and for one season co-hosted “In the Paint” for the NBA, on Sirius Satellite Radio. He also was a co-host of some TV shows on the Outdoor Channel.

Along with his broadcasting work, Rick is also heavily involved in various other business ventures, including:

– Spokesperson for BioGenesis, the most potent all-in-one health and performance-enhancement supplement available. www.gogyv.com/rbarry

– VP of Special Events for Team ACX, a U.S. based engineering and marketing company that is planning to embark on an extraordinary launch with the world’s first patented Glasses Free 3D (GF3D), 55”, 4K portal (monitor) and 28” gaming portal.

– Working with Folium Biosciences, the largest, fully and vertically integrated producer of phytocannabinoid and terpene rich (PCR) hemp oil in the world. They are a premier bulk supplier of highly refined PCR hemp oil that can be used for a multitude of consumer product applications.   www.foliumbiosciences.com

– Powertron Global, a company with a patented product that improves the efficiency and life of HVAC units, chillers or coolers, providing customers with guaranteed savings of at least 9% on their monthly utility bill.

– Partner in NSL & Company, a venture firm focusing on technology. www.nslcoint.com

– Secure Path Networks, a company offering a no cost analysis of a company’s telecommunications, showing them how they can save the company from 10 to in excess of 50% in monthly savings.  The company has a 95% retention rate and has some very high profile clients.

– Owner in BVS: Specialty Water, LLC (dba: America H2O) a company with access to unlimited high quality natural spring water for bottling and other uses.

– Owner in Smart FabRX, a company in the antimicrobial business, with various products and processes available to prevent the spread of diseases, mold, mildew and odors.

– VP of Marketing Vijuvia Life Centers, is the leader of combining vitality and rejuvenation for elevating the quality of life and safe reduction of pain.

– VP Marketing Oley Hemp, a full service (from start to finish) industrial hemp producer.for Mbanq, a

– Spokesman for Mbanq, one of the most comprehensive Banking-as-a-Service FinTechs globally, with a more scalable business model.

For fun, Rick has started Rick Barry 24 Adventures, where fishing, golfing, hunting and other sports adventures are provided for companies and individuals. Information on trips to fish with Rick are at the following web page: www.rickbarry24.com

Rick lives in Lakewood Ranch, FL in the winter and Colorado Springs, CO the other months with his wife, Lynn, who was an All-America basketball player at The College of William & Mary, where she became the first female athlete, and still is the only basketball player, to have her jersey retired.  For twelve years, she was the Assistant Executive Director of USA Basketball, in charge of all women’s programs.  For five years, Lynn was the special advisor to the WNBA and was a valuable asset in helping the new league get started.

All five of Rick’s grown sons have played profession basketball.  At one time, Jon, Brent and Drew were in the NBA, becoming the first family to have a father and three sons play in the league.  His oldest son, Scooter, a member of the 1988 NCAA Champion Kansas Jayhawks, was the last cut by the Boston Celtics and went on to play in Europe for over 15 years.  He is now working for a software company, OpenGov, specializing in sophisticated programs for state government agencies. Jon is currently a game analyst for NBA games broadcast on ABC-TV and ESPN TV and radio.  Brent enjoyed two NBA Championships with the San Antonio Spurs and after doing TV broadcasting for NBA-TV and Turner Broadcasting, is currently the VP of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs.  Drew, played for three seasons in the NBA and has done analyst work for college basketball at a regional network, as well as working for R. R. Donnelly, one of the world’s largest printing companies.

Meanwhile, Rick’s youngest son, Canyon, graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Physics from the Honors College at the College of Charleston.  He then completed his collegiate basketball eligibility at the University of Florida as a graduate student studying for his Masters in Nuclear Engineering.  He was chosen as the 2017 SEC 6^th Man-of-the-Year and the CoSIDA Academic Athlete of the Year, the nation’s top academic honor in Division I men’s basketball, which made him a two-time First Team Academic All-America.  With that honor, his mother, Lynn and Canyon became the first ever mother and son to be two-time Division I First Team Academic All-America basketball players in women’s and men’s basketball. Canyon is keeping Rick’s unique underhanded free throw technique alive. He set a Florida school record with 42 consecutive free throws made in the regular season and finished with an 88.3% free throw accuracy. Canyon played professionally in the top league in the Czech Republic, while leading his team is scoring and played in China where he scored 30 points per game on 58% FG shooting, 41% on 3-point shots, 90% from the FT line and 6+ rebounds a game.  He currently is playing for the Iowa Wolves, the developmental team for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA G-League.  In high school he was on the Varsity tennis team in 2010, playing #4 doubles, going undefeated and winning the state championship. In 2011, he and his partner played #2 doubles and again won the Colorado State Championship. Canyon was also the State of Colorado boy’s high school badminton champion in 2010 and in March, 2011, in his first varsity track meet, with only one day of practice, finished second and qualified for the state championships in the triple jump with a leap of 43’ 6”. In 2011, Canyon received the prestigious Steinmark Award, given to the top male high school student/athlete in the State of Colorado.

Rick is an excellent motivational speaker and basketball clinician.  He enjoys, fishing, hunting, road and mountain biking, is a golfer and was an outstanding tennis player.  He is now an avid  pickleball player. In 2007, Rick became the ReMax World Long Driving Champion in the Grand Champions Division.  His winning drive was just shy of 350 yards.  He repeated as champion in 2008.  In 2009, they dropped his division, but he won again in 2010 in what was then the Legends Division.  Rick’s winning drive in the Finals was 351 yards. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete in the 2011 event and in 2012 he lost in the Semi-Finals, disappointing himself for not winning.  In 2013 he won the title in the Masters Division and came in second in the Legends division, losing by two yards.  As a result of a biking accident, Rick was unable to compete in 2014 and in 2015 there weren’t enough competitors in his division to have a competition. Sadly, the divisions for older competitors were dropped in 2016.