Matt Barnes had always known he could knock it down from deep. However, it was not until he joined the Golden State Warriors that he was finally given the opportunity to showcase his 3-point shooting skills. This was back when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson weren’t in the Bay.
At one point, Barnes even tied a franchise record of seven 3-point shots made in a single game during his stint with the Dubs. A year later, Barnes’ teammate Jason Richardson passed him by making eight in a regular-season game.
Looking back, Barnes knew that his 3-point record with the Warriors would’ve been still significant if it hadn’t been for Curry and Thompson. As soon as the Splash Brothers arrived, they made it rain from beyond the arc, ultimately dwarfing Barnes’ career milestone.
“I had held the record for 3’s in a game, I think, before Steph came along, I think it was seven [3-pointers]. Until you know, the ‘Splash Brothers’ came along and demolished it,” Barnes told VLAD TV in an old interview.
Barnes had the chance to shine in GSW
In retrospect, the Warriors made the right decision in rebuilding and drafting Curry and Thompson. As much as Barnes admired how the Splash Brothers changed the game and revolutionized 3-point shooting, the “We Believe” Warriors that he was once part of still hold a special place in his heart.
Before singing with the Warriors, Barnes bounced around from team to team as a backup player. He never really had the chance to play, but finally found a home with Golden State.
From just making a total of 10 3-point shots in his first three years in the league, the 6’7″ forward made 106 threes for the Warriors in his debut season alone. For Barnes, it speaks volumes about how the Warriors valued him as a player despite being there for only a short period of time.
“It was just really an opportunity,” Barnes reflected. “I think there’s several people in my position, they can play but just you know, we were lost in the shuffle. Being late-round picks or not being drafted, there’s a lot of politics in the NBA, and if you’re a first-round pick, they’re gonna give you every opportunity to play, and you know if you’re making more money than someone, they’re gonna give that person an opportunity to play.”
“So, I was never making a ton of money, and I was a second-round pick, so I really had to fight my way to even get on the court,” he continued.
Matt eventually teamed up with Splash Bros
Barnes left the Warriors after two full seasons. The team eventually moved on from the “We Believe” squad and started building around Curry and Klay.
At that point, the Dubs were shooting way better from the 3-point line than when Barnes was still one of their top shooters. Together, Curry and Thompson revamped Golden State and etched their names in NBA history.
“In my opinion, they’re the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game,” former Dubs coach Mark Jackson once declared.
As for Barnes, he went on to play for six different teams before making an epic return to Golden State in 2017. This time, he joined forces with Curry and Thompson, averaging 34.6 per cent from deep. Barnes won his first and only NBA title that year with the Dubs and finally called it quits.