From NBA Champion to Pickleball Gold
By Matthew Schwartz
November 5, 2024
Barry is a fierce competitor in pickleball, as he was in basketball.
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The voice on the other end of the phone is familiar. It belongs to an 80-year-old pickleball player who can still be feisty.
“I’m not out there to make friends with you when I play,” Rick Barry says. “I’m out there to kick your ass, just like when I played basketball. If I’m doing something of a competitive nature, I’m out there to win. Afterwards we can be friendly.”
The Rick Barry who is obsessed with pickleball is the same Rick Barry who is one of the most prolific scorers in professional basketball history. Barry played for 14 seasons (10 in the NBA, four in the ABA) and averaged nearly 25 points per game. In 1966-’67, his 2nd pro season, he averaged 35.6 points per game. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and James Harden have averaged more.
Barry was a 12-time All-Star and won two league championships. The 6’7 ½” small forward famously shot free throws underhand and ranks fourth all-time in NBA free-throw percentage at 90 percent. Barry retired in 1980, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.
Barry spent much of his free time golfing, playing tennis, and fishing. He excelled at everything, but there was a void. “I missed competing when I didn’t have basketball,” Barry tells me.
He won four world long drive golf championships between 2007 and 2013, but says, “They got rid of the old farts division. I didn’t want to get back into tennis at my age because it was harder on the body. My wife said, ‘Why don’t you try pickleball?’”
Barry went along with his wife’s suggestion, first playing pickleball in 2019. “I said, ‘Wow, this is really good.’ I loved the game pretty quickly but I hated the kitchen when I first started. I had to learn about that forward momentum and not falling into the kitchen. I said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna learn how to play this.’ So I would drive two hours [from his Florida home near Sarasota] up to The Villages to play with top players.”
Barry honed his pickleball skills in The Villages, where he was mentored by nationally renowned senior player Dick Scott. Pickleball came quickly to Barry, who still has elite hand-eye coordination.
And his competitive fire still burns. “My father was a perfectionist,” Barry says. “I’m never satisfied with anything I do. I don’t care how good I played, it’s never good enough. I will just never accept mediocrity in myself.”
Barry has a DUPR (Dynamic Universal Player Rating) of 4.5. He says he’s shrunk three inches from his NBA days and is now 6’4 ½ “, still taller than most pickleball opponents. “Lobbing [against me], although I can’t jump like I used to, it’s not a great idea. I haven’t played anybody my age that’s my size in height or as mobile as I am.” He says his weight is between 209 and 215 pounds.
Barry won the “Triple Crown” in two major pickleball tournaments this year in the 80+ division. At the US Open in Naples, Florida, in April, he won gold medals in men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. He repeated the feat at the Huntsmen World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, two weeks ago. In both tournaments, his men’s doubles partner was another top 80-year old player, Fred Shuey.
“I would say Rick is one of the five best pickleball players in the country who is 80 and older,” Shuey says from his home in LaJolla, California. “He’s extremely competitive, he does not want to lose. I’m used to being around alpha males. When I first saw Rick play, I said, ‘This guy has soft hands and he loves to dink.’ He’s a dream type of player for me to partner with.”
Barry’s partner in mixed doubles at the Huntsmen World Senior Games was Alice Tym. Barry reached out to Tym when he first started playing. As with Shuey, Barry teams up with great players. Tym, 81, was a tennis star in the mid-1960’s and is a highly rated pickleball player.
“Rick has obviously worked very hard at pickleball,” Tym says. “I’d play with him anywhere because he’s dead serious about winning. His serve is one of his biggest strengths. Because of his height he gets an angle that other people can’t.”
Tym and Shuey say Barry is intense on the pickleball court but never criticizes them, he’s hard only on himself, occasionally cursing himself out quietly after an unforced error. Barry does not suffer fools easily though. When asked if his height and fame intimidate opponents, he says, “I don’t know, you have to ask them.”
Barry was in a horrific bicycle crash in 2014, sustaining numerous fractures. “If you saw all the rods and pins and screws in me, you’d be wondering how the hell I can be even doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I thank God every day that I’m able to do this.”
Sports are a huge part of the Barry family DNA. All five of his sons played basketball professionally. His wife, Lynn, was a star basketball player at the College of William & Mary, where her jersey number was retired (Barry says she’s a 4.5 pickleball player who prefers to play only recreationally).
Barry spent years after retiring from the NBA as a TV analyst. He was outspoken, sometimes too outspoken for network executives and players because he wasn’t afraid to criticize guys for bad plays. He believes the current game “Has too much one-on-one play. When I turn my TV on, it comes on to the pickleball channel.”
Barry says the key to being a great pickleball player is, “You can’t have a glaring weakness. If you’ve got a glaring weakness, I’m going to exploit it. The strategy of the game, like in any sport, is exploiting your opponents’ weakness.”
His immediate goal is to win another pickleball triple crown at the US Nationals in Mesa, Arizona, which start November 9th. Beyond that, Barry says, “My goal in life is to be 100-years-old and play pickleball and go fly fishing.”
My thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
- Fox Sports baseball over-analyst John Smoltz must think he gets paid by the word. The Hall of Fame pitcher obviously knows pitching but talks virtually every second between every pitch. Please let the game breath!
- Hesacore paddle grips are all the rage now. I tried one this week. I think they’re overpriced, add unnecessary weight and are a pain to put on. I can put a regular grip on that’s much easier to apply, less expensive and just as comfortable. And I make as many unforced errors with either grip.
- At many times during the World Series pre-game show on Fox, I get the distinct feeling that Derek Jeter feels embarrassed by the shenanigans.
- If my team is opposing the Dodgers and it’s a close game late, I’d rather see anyone at the plate other than Freddie Freeman. The guy is the best at fouling off pitches he can’t drive until he gets one he can.
- When I play rec pickleball, I know I occasionally hit some balls that are out by an inch or less. It’s only rec play and I enjoy long rallies. And I don’t want to seem like a nit-picker who calls every close ball out.
If you have an idea for a blog about a pickleball player with a great backstory or anything pickleball related, please email me at mhs7386@gmail.com.