"For someone to accuse me of that is an insult" - Rick Barry dismissed accusations about quitting on the Warriors in Game 7 of the 1976 WCF
Not only was Rick Barry never appreciated for logging a series-best scoring average of 27.6 PPG in the 1976 Western Conference Finals, but he was also accused of giving up on his team as an act of protest.
This speculation unfolded after Barry and Phoenix Suns’ Ricky Sobers got embroiled in a heated on-court altercation in the early minutes of Game 7. Rumors circulated that during halftime, upon watching the replay of the fight, the 12-time All-Star voluntarily chose not to shoot the ball or score to teach his teammates a lesson. Ultimately, this allowed the Suns to register a 94-86 victory against his Warriors.
Rick Barry denied all rumors
As the Warriors held a 6-point lead going into halftime, critics of Barry speculated the worst, considering how the team dropped Game 7 at home. On the contrary, ‘The Miami Greyhound’ vehemently denied rumors of quitting his squad.
Justifying his stance, Barry stressed how Phoenix spotted the Warriors’ heavy dependency on scoring from 1-on-1 situations; as a response, he switched the strategy by making plays for his team.
"First of all my teammates did come to my defense. Second of all, I never looked at that video at halftime. And third, I never tried not to shoot the basketball. If you watch the video of the game, I was making passes to my teammates (as) I was trying to get us more involved since we were doing too much 1-on-1 and we were making a run to get back in the game," Barry said via 'The Icons Club.' "For someone to accuse me of that is an insult to me and my integrity as a person and as a basketball player."
Rod Thorn believes Barry gave up on his team
While the 1966-67 scoring champ continues to be offended by those rumors even today, another individual remains steadfast in his belief.Without any reservations, Rod Thorn upholds his belief that Rick refrained from shooting the ball for most of the second half.
"He refused to shoot in the second half, you know, when they lost the game, got knocked out of the playoffs. They could’ve easily have won again that year ‘cause they had a great team," Thorn stated. "But... I never played with him, so I don’t know some of the quirks, but you sit and you think, 'Why would anybody do that? Over something like this, why would he do that?' But evidently, he did."
No matter what one may believe, Barry regards all claims suggesting that he quit on the 1976 Warriors as ‘absolute bulls**t.’
