Matt Barnes spent over a decade in the NBA as a very valuable role player. He was very good, especially on the defensive end, and would enjoy his best years with the Clippers, before winning a title in his last year as a professional with the Golden State Warriors in 2017.
Barnes is still very much around the game, as he works for ESPN and he is a big fan of Stephen Curry, as he previously questioned what was there to not like about him. He was also recently asked about the toughest players he ever had to guard during his career and it is quite the list of players.
“Kobe, to me was the toughest I ever guarded. KD was number two. Melo was three. Bron was four. DWade was five… I might be missing someone. Damn I forgot about T-Mac, he had to be up there. That motherf****r jumps so high in his 3-point shot. Yeah Ginobili and T-Mac are in there. Ginobili was a motherf****r.”
Barnes listed Kobe Bryant as his toughest challenge ever and the Black Mamba sure was a menace on the court. LeBron James being down at 4 might be a bit surprising to a few but Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant are two of the best pure scorers in the league in recent time and are worthy of being in any top 3. All 4 guys along with Dwyane Wade and Tracy McGrady, were scoring champs at some point during their careers, with Manu Ginobili being the only exception in that regard from Barnes’ list.
It speaks to how good Ginobili was and how much he sacrificed for the Spurs by willingly coming off the bench, as he could have easily asked out and shone as the big star elsewhere. Instead, he performed the role he was asked to do, becoming a key contributor to all the success they had and deservedly was announced as a first-ballot Hall of Famer earlier this year.
