So last week, I was all over J.R. Smith's interest in competing in
both the Three-Point Shootout and the Dunk Contest. I opened up the floor for discussion of who else could go both ways, and heard many fine names. Ironically, no one dared mention Brent Barry-who this season could become the first man to have hoisted both empty trophies. From the
San Antonio Express-News:
Barry said he'd like to have one more opportunity to become the first player to win both the dunk and 3-point contests. His famous white-men-can-jump free-throw line takeoff won him the dunk title as a rookie at the 1996 All-Star Game at the Alamodome.
Barry advanced to the second round of the 2003 3-point Shootout before losing to eventual champion Peja Stojakovic. He was scheduled to compete again in 2004, but had to skip the event after breaking his right hand.
Along with Bruce Bowen, Barry figures to be on the list of candidates the NBA considers. He ranked third in the league in 3-point accuracy as of Sunday.
Part of me finds this ridiculous and almost insulting. But there's something almost poetic about it. In the same way that the Spurs manufacture wins by doing whatever it takes, Barry could completely unspectacularly earn this distinction. All the names bandied about were hyper-athletic gods of the wing; Smith or Gerald Green seem to have been put on earth to do this. Barry, though, will just have happened to win each, showing that destiny has nothing on end results. If that's not the most Spursian sentence ever written, my name isn't Bethlehem Albert Shoals.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-16-2007 @ 10:40PM
Benzino-free Fanhizzy said...
Barry should instead focus on winning a Source award, to further advertise his blue-eyed soul.
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 10:08AM
Miss Gossip said...
My electricity (and thus internet) went out last night and this post happened to be the only page open on my computer. For the three hours before my laptop battery died, it was all I had to look at it. After all that, the only thing I have to add is: that was deep.
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 10:12AM
tom stovall said...
Let Barry go for the record! Is it because he's white that there is such an issue about this? His father was also an NBA star known for his fg pct. Let him have a shot. He's earned it.
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 10:59AM
wayne jones said...
Greetings,My first coment is based on comment #1. First of all,I don't think you should have said anything about blue eyes. I don't know if you meant any harm but that's what i thaught.I'm a black man and I personally think that the NBA is getting too black and boring. However, Barry deserves that chance because he earned it.
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 11:06AM
wayne joseph said...
please stop calling names, Barry deserves that chancebecause he's a fighter.One more thing, i would like to see more white guys in the NBA.Yes, I am a black man but to me, the NBA is not like it use to be.
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 2:01PM
tom stovall said...
wayne jones: the nba isn't boring because its predominantly black, its boring because very few play like a team. Its all about the individual stars, which coincidentally, the nba markets. Contracts, endorsements, media hype have all jumped ahead of playing for the love and desire of the game. White guys, european guys, Asian guys, latino guys add to the mix of the league, but the team concept is lacking which breeds contempt among the players which results in poor performance
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 4:09PM
mark regis said...
white power
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 8:21PM
James Gentry said...
Who the heck cares what color he is? The NBA is boring because there are no great rivalries any more. No one watches untill the play-offs and then wish they would end sooner. Brent really doesn't come to my mind when I think about the NBA. I think about who would win in a fight between Ben Wallace and Rasheed. What do you think?
Reply
1-17-2007 @ 10:58PM
J Groover said...
I rthink Brent Barry deserves a shot. I remember watching his Father shoot underhanded free throws and he was the best, at the Univ. of Miami, the Nets and the Warriors
Reply