The ABA Years: The Only Man to Lead Three Finals in Scoring

The most special footnote of Barry's career is that he spanned scoring-champion honors in three leagues. In college he was a scoring machine at San Francisco; as an NBA rookie he took the scoring title; in between, after a contract dispute sent him to the ABA's Oakland Oaks and others, he kept filling the net.

Because of that, he became the only player in basketball history to be a Finals scoring leader in NCAA, ABA and NBA—a record with no predecessor and few likely successors. In the ABA he won no ring but remained terrifyingly productive, proving "switch leagues, keep the touch."

That ABA interlude also earned him years of "defector" abuse, but purely on basketball terms, leading three systems in scoring exactly shows Barry's offense was "environment-independent"—put him anywhere, he puts the ball through the rim.

Related Reading

• 1975 NBA Finals MVP: Rick Barry (Golden State Warriors)
• Historical Standing: Why Barry Is the "Most Underrated Scoring King"
• College Days: The Scoring Machine at San Francisco
• 1975 Rick Barry FMVP Breakdown（四）
• The "Granny" Free Throw: Barry’s Famous Oddity and 90% Touch