It’s been two years since Will Barton last stepped on the court in an NBA game for the Toronto Raptors in what was the swan song for his career. After eight seasons in Denver, he was traded to the Washington Wizards along with Monte Morris in return for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a move that netted the Nuggets their first NBA Championship in franchise history.
Even though he hasn’t played professional hoops in two seasons, that doesn’t mean that he’s done. According to Senior NBA Insider Chris Haynes, Barton is making a return to professional basketball, but with the BIG3 league.
BIG3 News: 11-year NBA guard Will ‘The Thrill’ Barton has reached an agreement with DMV Trilogy and will be in lineup this Sunday to make his debut vs. Detroit Amps on @CBSSports, sources tell me. Major addition to @thebig3. pic.twitter.com/0sx23CfdsV
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 18, 2025
For anyone not familiar with the league, famous hip-hop musician Ice Cube founded it back in 2017 to give guys whose time had run out in the NBA another chance to play some basketball. Some of the top names in the league today are Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson, Dwight Howard and Joe Johnson. Barton will have former champion Stephen Jackson as his head coach on the DMV Trilogy.
That should tell you everything you need to know.
After beginning his career in Portland, Barton spent eight years in Denver (2015-2022) and finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting on two different occasions (2016, 2018). He averaged 14 points per game with the Nuggets, and has made the fourth-most 3-point field goals in franchise history (804). He broke the record in March of 2022 and held onto first place for a year until Jamal Murray reset the record in March of 2023.
The long-time Nugget was also a part of the memorable 2016 NBA Dunk Contest, as he went up against Aaron Gordon and Zach Lavine in arguably the greatest rendition of the event. Earlier in his career, Barton was one of the most entertaining dunkers in the league.
Barton had many memorable performances for Denver, including a 37-point outburst, plus the game-winner, against the Chicago Bulls in 2017, a dagger 3-pointer in Game 4 of the 2022 Western Conference First Round to keep the series alive, and a game-winning rejection against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2021.
Despite all the good he did for Nuggets Nation, Barton’s departure from the Mile High City was a sour one after the 2022 season. He was thrust into being the third scorer for Denver all season long in the wake of the injuries sustained by Murray and Michael Porter Jr., and many fans were not appreciative of his shot-chucking ways, especially after how he tried to take matters into his own hands in Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs. He shot just over 40% from the field in that five-game series.
#NeverForget the worst shot in Nuggets franchise history https://t.co/81G2ylH0Mv pic.twitter.com/DCyAnphhIX
— Trent Finnegan (@trent_finnegan2) July 18, 2025
That 2021-22 season is what most Nuggets fans will remember from him instead of the better times at the start of the Nikola Jokic era, and there’s not much he can do to change that.
The BIG3 will be good for him though. He doesn’t have to play defense and he can chuck up as many threes as he wants while getting paid. For someone who did that in the NBA, doing it with much lower stakes doesn’t sound like a bad gig whatsoever.
