Matt Barnes finally gets ring from Warriors title
More than three years after winning the NBA title and more than two years after being honored with a special ring ceremony, Matt Barnes has his 2017 Warriors championship ring.
Barnes initially received the jewelry in November 2017, but he left the ring at Oracle Arena after the ceremony, which also involved rings for his sons.
Maybe the Warriors tucked it in a truck when they moved across the bay last summer, but they decided a year later it was ultimately time to get the championship piece to its rightful owner. The team sent the ring to ESPN’s Los Angeles studios, where Barnes appeared on “The Jump” Tuesday afternoon and accepted his piece of Warriors history.
Barnes took the opportunity to set the record straight: It was a locked door, not pride, that kept him from bringing home the ring, which came in a large box.
“Because this thing’s so big, I didn’t want to sit in the stands with it, so they put it in a room. And when I was ready to leave, the room was locked, and it’s just been cat and mouse ever since,” Barnes said, thanking longtime Warriors senior vice president of communications Raymond Ridder, who held onto the ring for him.
The forward, who had two stints each with the Warriors, Clippers and Kings, had previously downplayed his role in the championship, saying he didn’t feel he earned the ring.
“I came in when KD went down, playing a consistent
20-25 minutes,” Barnes said on his ‘All the Smoke’ podcast earlier this year. “The game KD comes back, I get hurt maybe a week before the playoffs and I’m out of it. I got a free ride, I got a free ring.”
Barnes played in 20 games that championship year, starting five times and averaging 5.7 points after signing with the Warriors in early March. Of course, he also played for the beloved “We Believe” Warriors in 2006-07, who upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr recorded a message of congratulations for Barnes.
“This was well deserved. You played a big role on our team in ‘17, especially when KD went down. You were a great leader, fantastic to coach, one of the most competitive people I’ve ever been around. And you brought Warriors fans a lot of thrills over the years, going back to the We Believe era,” Kerr said.
“So thank you for everything you’ve done for our organization. Enjoy the ring — you are an NBA champion forever, and don’t ever forget that.”