One of many nice HBCU gamers who made an affect within the NBA has died.
Dick Barnett, who was a important a part of the New York Knicks’ 1970 and 1973 NBA championship groups, died Sunday at 88, six months after he was lastly inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame.
A local of Gary, Indiana, Barnett was recruited to Tennessee A&I – now generally known as Tennessee State – by legendary coach John McClendon and helped the Tigers win three consecutive NAIA nationwide championships from 1957 to 1959. The Tigers have been the primary HBCU crew to win a nationwide school basketball championship.
After school, Barnett performed for the Syracuse Nationals of the NBA and the Cleveland Pipers of the ABL earlier than catching on with the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 17 factors per recreation in three seasons with the Lakers earlier than being dealt to the Knicks earlier than the 1965-66 season.
Barnett performed the remainder of his profession with the Knicks as a veteran presence, guiding the crew’s nucleus—fellow HBCU legend Willis Reed, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, and Invoice Bradley—to nice success. He averaged 18 factors per recreation within the 1970 NBA Finals, by which the Knicks defeated the favored Lakers in seven video games. He was additionally part of the Knicks’ 1973 title crew, which beat Los Angeles.
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— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 27, 2025
In 14 NBA seasons, Barnett averaged 16 factors, three rebounds, and three assists per recreation. Following his NBA profession, he earned a doctorate in schooling from Fordham College and taught sports activities administration at St. John’s till his 2007 retirement.
Barnett lastly obtained the Corridor of Fame name within the spring of 2024, greater than 50 years after his ultimate NBA recreation. He’d beforehand been inducted as a member of the Tennessee A&I nationwide championship groups, however this time, he was inducted as a participant.
