Player Facts
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 225lbs.
Date of Birth: May 30, 1992
College Experience: UNC (2 years)
Selections
All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0
Player Grades
Speed/Explosiveness: 8
Physical Strength: 8
Positional Size: 8
Positional Wingspan: 8
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 6
Three-Point Scoring: 8
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 7
Interior Defense: 6
Rebounding: 7
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STRENGTHS
Intro
Barnes is a big wing with a strong frame and nice stroke. He is a true multi-positional defender who spends time guarding 1 through 5. Harrison can expand his role if given the chance, a capable iso player with some shot creation skills.
Fitting In
The 6'8" forward got an early education in how to play off-ball next to stacked Warriors teams as a youngster. The gravity of stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, plus the distribution of Draymond Green, provided loads of open spot-up reps.
He can be a bit up and down from long range but managed to shoot north of 37% on his catch-and-shoots in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. 2020-2021 had him surge to 42.1% on these zero-dribble treys. The 6'8" swingman is no slouch as a cutter either.
He continues to be a tidy fit next to high-usage teammates on the fast break. Barnes is not an easy player to stop in the open court once he gets fed the ball in stride. He applies that size and athleticism to finish above the rim.
Playing beside guys like De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, he placed in the 66th percentile for transition scoring in 2021-2022.
A very solid defensive rebounder on the wing, Barnes can grab-and-go as well. This is valuable especially for a guy who often finds himself playing small-ball four.
Playing with others offensively speaking is a true strength of Harrison Barnes. He's a very smart, good system guy that plays within himself and within the flow of the offense. Whenever he recognizes a slower player closing out to him, he uses his burst to attack and make a play.
Scoring for Himself
His individual shot creation comes in a few different forms. Barnes is at his peak when decisively attacking angles, utilizing his strong body to be a physical slasher. His handle isn't particularly elite, instead of relying upon brute force to carve his way to the iron.
The painted area is where Harrison invites contact. A respectable free throw rate is one of the positive results of this. The other is a rim field goal percentage that's safely above 60% season after season. 62.5% is what he shot at the tin in 2021-2022.
He's got somewhat of a classic offensive game in that he looks to post up on any sort of height/weight advantage. The forward is patient and will look to get to his jumper over the top rather than hooks. Harrison can also find open people as he crab dribbles.
Barnes is a difficult-shot-maker in these spots, so you can confidently throw it down to him with favourable matchups. He accrued 157 post-up points spanning his 2019-2020 campaign. This placed him in the 63rd percentile leaguewide.
Pick-and-Roll Malleability
Harrison flexes his versatility within the confines of the screen-and-roll. He can be the screener, with an inclination to slip for a quick attack. These same ghost screens can be used as a means of popping out for three too.
Barnes can also be the man with the ball, slicing through the defense after using the pick. He was in the 87th percentile for scoring as the initiator here in 2019-2020.
Wing Defender
On defense, Harrison Barnes fulfills that mold of a big, switchy wing. He can slide up to guard four-men, with very impressive feet to stick with people smaller. He's a rock-solid 225lbs. at 6-foot-8 so he usually gets the task of guarding the Paul George's and Kevin Durant's out there.
He's one of just a few players who defended north of 50 handoffs and above 50 post-ups in 2019-2020. If nothing else, this is a testament to how much utility he possesses within the defensive unit. Harrison rounded his year off with 175 pick-and-roll ball-handler defensive possessions.
Post Defense
At a sturdy 225 pounds, he is an above-average defender in the post. His defensive footwork, hand positioning, and body angling here are all superb. These things culminated in a 91st percentile position defending these play types in 2019-2020.
Filling the Help Role
Barnes and his length can be cast in the nail defender role. He can even hold his own as the low man roaming around the charge circle. His on-ball defense is more effective than his off-ball work but he makes himself useful with that size and anticipation.
The former Tar Heel will refrain from committing mistakes like helping one pass away or closing out too tightly to non-shooters. In fact, he closed out 2019-2020 with the sixth-most 3pt shot contests, sandwiched between the rangy Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo.
WEAKNESSES
Thinly Spread Impact
Barnes is pretty solid across the board, but he doesn't necessarily do anything at an elite level. This is why he's yet to make an All-Star team or secure an All-NBA spot. Harrison has been asked to be a quasi-number one option in Dallas and Sacramento, but those instances never turned out optimally.
Uninspiring Playmaking
Passing is a clear weak point relative to the rest of his game. He doesn't create a ton for others even as his usage rate rises. The absence of playmaking tools or flair contributes to him being overextended in the primary offensive role.
The UNC product only produced 5.9 assist points created per night in 2019-2020. Several true bigs like LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Drummond beat out that figure. Moreover, Barnes only dished the rock on 26.8% of his drives that year while shooting a suboptimal 46.2% here himself.
Missing Floaters
While efficient from most areas on the floor, Barnes does have some weak spots. The bane of his scoring profile lies with floaters and push shots in the lane.
He takes a ton of these too, comprising a good chunk of his shot breakdown. On these high volumes of non-charge circle paint shots, Harrison has been sub-42% from 2017-2018 to 2020-2021.
Defensive Quibbles
Harrison checks most of the boxes on defense. If searching for a weakness, perhaps he could improve as a point of attack defender.
He was in only the 31st percentile defending handoffs in 2019-2020, occasionally getting his big frame hung up on the opposing big. Still, being on a below-average defensive team that year didn't help either.
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