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00:00Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players in Golden State Warriors history, Rick Barry.
00:05Hey, Rick, how you doing?
00:07Well, if I was doing any better, I'd be making a comeback in the NBA.
00:10Hey, we could use you!
00:12Yeah, you know, the Warriors actually need a guy who can create, and you weren't bad at that, Rick.
00:17Yeah, no, it's amazing what's happened to the game, and I'm so excited that Joe Lacob came in
00:24and finally got the team to play to the levels they're capable of, and they've had quite a good run,
00:29and we'll see if they can find a way to sneak into the playoffs this year and surprise some people.
00:33Well, let me ask you this about what you're up to this weekend, Rick,
00:36because I know we've got the Celebrity Pickleball Bash, and I know you're a huge pickleball player,
00:41but I would assume you're here for the All-Star Game, too.
00:43I mean, what do you have going this weekend?
00:46What don't I have going? I'm very busy. I was honored by the Sheriff's Department here locally.
00:53I received the first-ever Honorary Sheriff's Badge, and commemorate that was a nice affair we had
00:58at the Italian Athletic Club last night, and it was great to meet the Sheriff and the Deputy Sheriff
01:04and all of the other fine people who serve the community here in such a wonderful way.
01:10A lot of great people were there. That was really fun to do, and a great meal on top of it.
01:14I love Italian food, so that was cool.
01:17I'm waiting for my son, Scooter, to show up and my granddaughter, Brooklyn, so I can go to lunch with them.
01:22Then I've got another function tonight, and I'd use up the whole show trying to tell you everything I'm doing
01:26the rest of the weekend. Of course, I am playing pickleball on Saturday afternoon over at the Warfield Theater,
01:33which is going to be kind of fun. I'm playing Tyler Hansborough, who's a really good player.
01:39He's thinking about going into becoming a pro-pickleball player or something.
01:42Anyway, he and I are teaming up, and we're going to play against some other pros and celebrities,
01:46so it'll be a nice challenge to see how well we can do.
01:49We'll be the only team that doesn't have at least one professional pickleball player on it,
01:54so we'll have a nice challenge to see if we can do well.
01:57Rick, congrats on that award. I know it means a lot, and I'm going to keep it real with you.
02:02I was born and raised here in the Bay Area. I used to call your show Different Station
02:06and lobby for you to be the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
02:09With that, I know you know the game. You played it. You excelled.
02:13I'm excited about this move. I felt they needed to move.
02:17But Rick, we keep it real here, 10-2.
02:19If I were to ask you your biggest concern with this team after the Butler acquisition,
02:25how would you answer that?
02:29Size. How are they going to do against teams that have some size?
02:33Obviously, if they get everybody back and healthy, I still think they have a chance of doing something.
02:40Anytime you have two players of the quality of Steph and also Jimmy Butler,
02:45and then you throw Draymond into the equation with the experience that they all have,
02:50anything certainly can happen.
02:52I like what I've seen from Jimmy in this game so far. He had a nice game last night.
02:57Unfortunately, they came up a little short, and I told people,
03:00watch out, Kyrie's going to step his game up now that Luke is gone.
03:03He was just holding back. He did it last night. He crushed the Warriors.
03:07He played so well.
03:09But the big thing right now is they've just got to get themselves healthy.
03:12I'd just like to see them find a way to get into that eighth spot,
03:15or lower than that if possible, and not have to be in the play-in.
03:18Once you get there, anything can happen in sports, as you well know.
03:22Nobody in the world would have picked what happened in Super Bowl
03:25to see the Chiefs get dominated like they did in the first half.
03:28That's the beauty of sports. Crazy things can happen.
03:31I know first-hand. We have the greatest upset in the history of major sports,
03:34certainly in the NBA without question.
03:36I experienced it first-hand, so I know what can happen.
03:40Rick, Steph Curry's 36. He's going to be 37 next month.
03:45Can you explain to fans what he's going through at that age,
03:52particularly his size?
03:55How do you know what is maybe some slippage from Steph Curry,
03:59and what might be the function of not having great teammates to help him out?
04:05I think the last part is the most important part,
04:08having people to be able to help him out so he doesn't have to do as much himself.
04:11Certainly, he's having an off-season for him,
04:14which would be a fantastic season for the majority of players in the NBA.
04:18But he can elevate his game, no question.
04:20He struggled in the Olympics until they needed him in the semis and the finals
04:24when he came through admirably.
04:26I'm not overly concerned about that, as long as he can stay healthy.
04:30But the big thing is, at 36, first of all, he doesn't play a lot of minutes.
04:35I mean, I averaged 47 minutes a game in one season that I played,
04:39and most of the time over 40.
04:41The guys today generally average around 36, which is three-quarters of the game.
04:45So it wasn't like he had to beat his body up for that long a time
04:49since he's been in the NBA.
04:51And the travel was a lot easier.
04:53He didn't get to bed at 2 o'clock in the morning, get up at 5.30 to catch a 6.30 flight
04:56to go to the next city.
04:58They get chartered flights, they get meals, they get better rest.
05:01So it's not as difficult, and that's a good thing for Warriors fans
05:04that the players don't have to go through that.
05:06So at that age, there's no problem.
05:08I played there.
05:09I could have played longer, but they cut the rosters from 12 to 11 in 1980
05:12to save money, the NBA.
05:14Cut the rosters from 12 to 11.
05:16Otherwise, I was going to be playing with the Boston Celtics.
05:18And I still could play, and I still was in good shape.
05:20So I'm not worried about stuff at his age.
05:23Hey, Rick, let me ask you this, because you know this.
05:25Fans have more outlets now to voice their anger than ever.
05:29But Buddy Hill, you can shoot with the best of them.
05:32What advice would you give him, and what are you seeing from him?
05:34Because a lot of fans are trying to blame him for everything,
05:37but I can't admit they are correct, and he's struggling.
05:40How would you try to work on Buddy and get him back right?
05:44Well, everybody struggles.
05:46I mean, you go through a season, you have a time.
05:48Most teams have a period where they struggle a lot.
05:50For the Warriors, I'm an eternal optimist.
05:53So for them, I say, okay, they've struggled this first half of the season.
05:56There's two halves to the season, basically.
05:58They've got a lot of time left to get their act together.
06:00So I'm not overly concerned about that.
06:02I think they can find a way to get into the playoffs.
06:04They have enough talent to do it, especially with Butler joining them.
06:07And if Camillo can come back and get himself up to the level he needs to be,
06:10he just still has to continue to improve.
06:12He's made some improvement, not as much as I'd like to see.
06:15But when it comes to a shooter, that happens.
06:18I mean, hell, even Steph has gone through some games.
06:20Steph's had some horrible stretches where he didn't shoot the ball particularly well.
06:23And he's the greatest shooter ever.
06:24So you don't ever worry about that.
06:26Offense is a rollercoaster, right?
06:28You've got a lot of ups, a lot of downs.
06:30Defense is what has to stay constant.
06:32That's what the Warriors need to focus on right now.
06:34They need to, as a team, focus on playing good, tough defense,
06:37which will keep them in games when guys are struggling offensively.
06:40And even get some victories on games that maybe you would have lost
06:43if your defense wasn't so good.
06:45I mean, just look, defense doesn't win championships, but it helps.
06:48And that's the perfect example of what happened with the Super Bowl.
06:51The defense for the Eagles was unbelievable in the first half.
06:56Never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would be able to dominate
06:59the Kansas City Chiefs offense the way that they did.
07:03And that helped them to win the game.
07:05But they still hurt some of the offense, still had to outscore them,
07:07and they did that.
07:08So that's what you need.
07:09So if you're a Warriors fan, get them to focus on the defense.
07:13The other stuff will take care of itself.
07:15I'm not worried about him.
07:16He's got somebody who can watch a shot, and Steph can help him figure it out.
07:19Yeah.
07:20Hey, Rick, I'm looking.
07:21What do you remember about the 1967 All-Star Game?
07:24Uh-oh.
07:26I remember a lot.
07:27Other than you were the MVP.
07:30Well, I should have been.
07:32I've always said in the All-Star Game, let's not even call it a game anymore.
07:36It's more of an exhibition.
07:37I don't know what the hell they've been doing,
07:39but the guys don't take it that seriously.
07:41Ours was very competitive.
07:43And I always felt that any time you have an All-Star Game,
07:45you should have two awards, the most valuable and the most outstanding.
07:48They're not necessarily the same players.
07:50In our game then, my teammate, great teammate, Nate Thurman,
07:53God rest his soul.
07:55Nate would have been, I think, the most valuable player.
07:58He went up against the front line that had Lucas, right?
08:01Lucas, Russell, Chamberlain, Willis-Reed.
08:03I mean, come on.
08:05He was there, and he had Daryl Emhoff, who was a nice player and doing stuff,
08:08but, I mean, this is not in the same category as those guys.
08:11And he had, like, 18 rebounds and a bunch of 16 points
08:14and was able to neutralize those guys.
08:17I think he was more valuable to our team than I was.
08:19I would have gotten the most outstanding player having scored 38 points.
08:23And that's usually the case in most All-Star Games.
08:27And so I just remember it was just such a unique game.
08:31Red Auerbach got thrown out the only time that ever happened for a coach
08:34to get thrown out of the game.
08:35It was a different world back then.
08:37Yeah, it really was.
08:39Yeah, it really was.
08:40It's a totally different world.
08:41And we didn't have time off and all the other stuff.
08:45You came in, you had a banquet, you played, you went out,
08:47and you started playing ball again.
08:48So it's a different world.
08:50And I'll give you the greatest example of all of how crazy it is.
08:54The guys who win the game, the two games,
08:56because they're going to play two games basically to 40 points,
08:58and if you win that first game, you play another game to 40 points,
09:01which is, in essence, three-quarters of a game, right?
09:0580 points is about three-quarters of an NBA game, right?
09:07Yep.
09:08So they're not even playing a full game.
09:10The winning guys, the eight guys on the winning team will get $125,000
09:15for doing that.
09:16$125,000 is more than I made in my first full, full years in the league.
09:21And they're getting that for playing 80 minutes of basketball on a Sunday.
09:26So those guys should be very fortunate that they're in the position
09:29that they're in.
09:30Rick, I got to tell you, man, and you didn't ask,
09:32but I'm going to share it with you because my wife's like, get a life.
09:35People got real problems, but you just said it.
09:37The players don't care.
09:39You're a steward of the game.
09:40I'm going to every party I can, every event I can.
09:43I'm going to support the Warriors and the NBA this weekend.
09:46But, damn it, I do not want to wash shirts and skins basically
09:50with three or four teams.
09:52Half of my life was watching you in the All-Star Game, Jordan and Magic,
09:56where they cared.
09:58What can Adam Silver do to fix this?
10:01And nobody, Rick, is in the slam dunk contest
10:03because they don't give a damn, and I don't like it.
10:08Yeah, well, I mean, Adam's trying.
10:10He's putting in a whole new format, and he's trying to do everything he can.
10:13You know, that's the nature of the beast.
10:16I mean, he can't force the players to have to want to play hard.
10:20I understand that he's concerned about injuries and things.
10:24Look what they've done in football,
10:25which I think is so smart to stop having a football game,
10:28an All-Star kind of game.
10:30That's crazy.
10:31That sport's too violent.
10:32And so the stuff that they do now, it's entertainment.
10:34That's what it should be.
10:35It should be an entertaining weekend.
10:37And I accepted the game for what it was.
10:39Basically, it was an exhibition.
10:40The guys could go out there, mess around, have some fun.
10:44They do something amazing.
10:45I still remember the past.
10:46Steph Curry made one of the All-Star Games.
10:48He was at half-court.
10:49He threw a freaking bounce bat.
10:50It bounced off right next to his basket.
10:52Giannis caught it and dunked it.
10:53I mean, my God.
10:54I mean, some of the things that these guys do are just crazy.
10:57So if you accept it for what it is, it's great.
10:59But stop calling it a game.
11:01If the guys don't want to make it a super competitive game,
11:03then that's their choice.
11:05You can't force somebody to do it.
11:07Hey, Rick, I've got to ask you about your thoughts on the Donchik
11:10for Anthony Davis trade.
11:12They're calling it one of the biggest in history.
11:14It kind of came out of nowhere.
11:15What were your thoughts?
11:18Well, I can't believe that Dallas didn't get more out of that trade.
11:21A whole bunch of first-round draft picks and what have you.
11:24I guess they were disenchanted with him and his work ethic or whatever it may be.
11:27I heard one of the owners of the team talking about the fact that they didn't
11:31like the way he worked out and that he was taking time off.
11:34I mean, it was not good.
11:36The people in Dallas are up in arms over the fact that they let him go.
11:39I just think the big thing is, yeah, sure, you want to let him go, fine.
11:42But get something of equal value.
11:43Now, they've got a hell of a player in Davis.
11:45I think they're actually going to be a better team.
11:46If Davis is healthy, Dallas will be a better overall basketball team with him.
11:50I really do.
11:51Because look what Kyrie just did against the Warriors last night.
11:53That's what he's capable of doing without Luca not being there.
11:56But then he's going to have a defensive factor in Davis.
11:58They'll be a better basketball team.
12:00They'll be much more competitive than they were with having Luca.
12:03But L.A. needs a star.
12:05It's L.A. They have to have a star.
12:07LeBron's going to retire probably in another year, maybe at the most.
12:10And so now they've got a guy to build around for the next 10 years.
12:14So it was a great move for them to be able to get him and to not have to give up
12:19more than Davis and no other players of any significance or draft picks that
12:24are going to kill him.
12:25So, yeah, great move for L.A.
12:27Not so great a move, I think, for Dallas because I don't think they got enough.
12:31No doubt.
12:32Hey, let me ask you this because I'm excited, Rick.
12:34Now that I'm calmed down.
12:35I'm excited about Jonathan Kaminga.
12:38When that day does come and that game is upon us, when he comes back,
12:42how can Dove Nation not be excited to add him to what they got going?
12:46What are your thoughts on Kaminga when he does get back?
12:50Well, hopefully he's going to play at a high level.
12:53He has made some improvement, got a little better with his three-point shooting.
12:56He does attack the basket with a vengeance, which I do like.
12:59Jimmy can do that as well.
13:01But then again, they're still small.
13:03I mean, you know, they're big guys, you know, are nice, they're serviceable.
13:07But when you're going up against some of these other teams, you know,
13:10a small ball doesn't always necessarily work.
13:12So it would just be a matter of how well those other players perform.
13:15They may wind up doing it with the two-headed monster like we had.
13:18We had Clifford Ray starting and George Johnson coming off the bench.
13:21Between the two of them, they put up numbers that were, you know,
13:24comparable to having a star player playing the center position.
13:27So maybe the Warriors can figure out a way to split time
13:30between some of the guys that they have.
13:32And, you know, the new young kid is showing some promise.
13:34The fact that I saw the game the other day when he knocked in three
13:37or three Warriors in a row, he could shoot the three.
13:39And so hopefully he'll develop quickly.
13:41I'm happy to see that they're playing him because I always felt if you thought
13:44you had enough positive thoughts about a player that you would draft him
13:53and bring him to your organization, he's only going to get better if you play him.
13:56And so he's getting a chance to play now,
13:58and he'll develop much quicker getting that opportunity.
14:01And so between him and Looney and whatever,
14:06if they can find a way to get those guys to put them in at different times
14:11and get some good performance out of them from rebounding defense
14:14and score a few points, then they might have a chance
14:17because they do have enough talent otherwise if all the other guys play
14:20at the level that they're capable of playing.
14:23And that's a big if.
14:25Rick, I know you have a great relationship with R.C. Davis,
14:28and I want to ask you, he told me something about you,
14:30but I want to check if he's correct.
14:32Is it true that a goal of yours is to live to be 100
14:36and fly fish on your 100th birthday?
14:41Well, fly fish and play pickleball.
14:43Wow, Rick!
14:45Oh, man, you're incredible, Rick.
14:47I know I'm getting up there, and I'm starting to lose a little motivation.
14:50There's one other thing I want to be able to do at 100,
14:53but I can't talk about it right now.
14:55My man, 100 grand.
14:57Hey, Rick, have a great time.
14:58Glad to have you back in the Bay.
15:00Take it easy.
15:01Really appreciate your time.
15:03It was a pleasure to talk.
15:04God bless all the fans.
15:05Hope everybody's 2025 is off to a great start.
15:08Thank you very much.
15:09All righty, that's Rick Barry, one of the greatest of all time.