Matt Barnes is a former NBA player known as a journeyman who has played for seven different teams in his 14-year career in the league. He is (in)famous for off-field incidents, but he has also been remarkable on the field. In 2017, his last season, he won his first and only NBA championship as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
Matt Barnes Biography
Matt Barnes was born on March 9, 1980, in Santa Clara, California, to a Caucasian mother and an African-American father. He attended Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, California, where he excelled in both American football and basketball and was a strong member of both teams at the school. He was honored in both sports as All-American, All-State, All-City, and All-League.
Barnes then played college basketball instead of football for the University of California at Los Angeles. He played four seasons at UCLA and completed his college program before turning pro. In his final year, he was selected by the All-Pacific-10 Honorable Mention.
He signed up for the 2002 NBA Draft and was awarded 46th place by the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Grizzlys immediately traded him for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who reassigned him to the NBA Development League. In the 2002-03 season, he joined the Fayetteville Patriots.
The following year, Barnes signed with the Long Beach Jam, a semi-professional men’s basketball team of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played alongside Dennis Rodman on the team and was able to control the ABA championship. In the 2003-04 season, the Los Angeles Clippers offered him a contract.
That was the beginning of his journeyman career because the following year he signed with the Sacramento Kings and although he established himself as a major rotation player, he switched back to the Philadelphia 76ers at the halfway point of the season. Injuries prevented him from playing any role in the team before he received injury clearance.
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For the 2005-06 season, Barnes signed a contract as a free player with the New York Knicks. He had an impressive start to the season but was reinstated after only six games. The 76ers came back into the game for him and he ended the season there.
Barnes was torn between continuing his dwindling NBA career or trying out for an NFL team that had distinguished itself as a wide receiver in high school. He gave basketball one more try, and between 2006 and 2008 he found some stability after signing with the Golden State Warriors. He got a good run of play on the team, which led to him raising his profile in the league. In December 2006, he broke the franchise’s record for the most three-point shots with seven three-point field goals.
His shooting accuracy from the bow and his overall offensive play improved immensely in his first season with the team. He played in 76 games and averaged 9.8 points per game. Barnes looked like he was made for the limelight when he helped his team, who were eighth in the Western Conference, beat the Dallas Mavericks, who were number one in the 2007 playoffs.
His performance earned him another one-year contract with the team, and he was named captain of the team alongside his teammates Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis.
After his second season with the Warriors, he signed one-year contracts with the Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers. He extended his stay with the Lakers for another year before returning to his former team, the Lakers’ rival, Clippers. Most notably, he was named defensive player of the year for the Clippers in 2013.
In 2015, Barnes returned to the team that drafted him, the Memphis Grizzlies, after a swap. He then joined the Kings before returning to the Bay Area to rejoin the Warriors after an injury to Kevin Durant. He won an NBA championship with the team before ending his career.
Family (Wife, Kids, Divorce)
Matt Barnes was married to Gloria Govan, a reality TV actress who starred in VH1’s Basketball Wives and Basketball Wives: LA. The couple has twin boys in common; Isaiah Michael and Carter Kelly.
Barnes’s marital problems were well-publicized as his wife accused him of domestic violence. He also got into a physical altercation with his former teammate Dereck Fisher, who was alleged with his estranged wife when he found him at Govan’s house.
After two years of marriage, they separated in 2014.
Matt Barnes Net Worth (Salary)
The value of Matt Barnes is estimated at around $10 million. This is due to the salary he has earned throughout his professional basketball career.
He is currently working on several interesting projects, including a bedding company and a production company working on movies after he promised to become a billionaire before the age of 50. He is also involved in many philanthropic activities. He created a foundation Athletes Against Cancer Foundation in honor of his late mother, who passed away in 2007, just days after the disease was diagnosed.
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Quick Facts (Measurements, Height)
Birth Name: Matt Kelly Barnes
Birth Place: Santa Clara, California, United States
Date of Birth: March 9, 1980
Weight: 226 lbs (103 kg)
Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Marital Status: Divorced
Nationality: American
Occupation: Professional Basketball Player (Retired)
Education: University of California, Los Angeles
