Basketball career

Youth and college career

Barnett was born in Greenville, South Carolina and raised in Riverside, California. He is a member of the Riverside Hall of Fame. While attending the University of Oregon Barnett was an All-American.

He is in the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the State of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor during the 2012 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, March 10, 2012.

Pro career

Barnett’s NBA career began when the Boston Celtics selected him with the eighth pick overall in the 1966 NBA draft. He later played for the Warriors for three seasons (1971-74) and five other teams during his 11-year career, including the San Diego Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Jazz, New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

While playing for the Trail Blazers in 1971, Barnett attempted a rushed long-range shot against the rival Los Angeles Lakers. His shot went in, prompting Blazers play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely to exclaim "Rip City! All right!" The phrase "Rip City", the meaning for which Schonely has no explanation, nonetheless caught on and became synonymous with the team and the city of Portland.

Barnett played alongside many of the league’s Hall of Famers, including Warriors stars Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond, as well as Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Pete Maravich and Julius Erving. Nicknamed "Crazy Horse", Barnett averaged 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 732 games.

Broadcasting

Barnett serves as a co-host on “Warriors Live” pregame shows on CSN Bay Area and all of KNBR’s postgame shows. Jim Barnett has been the Warriors television analyst since the 1985-1986 NBA season and was the color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Bob Fitzgerald on Comcast Sportnet Bay Area during the Golden State Warriors 2015 Championship season and continues this role into the Warrior's 2016 season.

Speaking engagements

Active in the community, Barnett does speaking engagements throughout the greater Bay Area during the year, including guest appearances at Warriors Basketball Camp sessions.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]