The New York Knicks have added a commemorative band to their jerseys in honour of late Hall of Fame guard Dick Barnett, who passed away on April 27 at the age of 88.
“Throughout his illustrious career, Dick Barnett embodied everything it meant to be a New York Knick, both on and off the court,” the Knicks said in a statement. “He left a positive impact on everyone he encountered and this organization is incredibly fortunate to have him be such an integral part of its history.”
The fourth overall pick in the 1959 NBA Draft, Barnett played for the Syracuse Nationals, Cleveland Pipers and Los Angeles Lakers before joining the Knicks in 1965. He played nine seasons in New York, helping the franchise win the NBA championship in 1969-70 and 1972-73.
Barnett, who was selected to his only All-Star Game in 1967-68, had his No. 12 retired by the Knicks in 1990. He is currently ninth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 9,442 regular season points, as well as 10th in regular season games played at 604.
Barnett was elected into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame as both a player and member of his college team, as Tennessee A&I State College (now known as Tennessee State University) became the first HBCU to win a national championship in 1956-57, as well as subsequent titles in 1957-58 and 1958-59.
The black band honouring Barnett debuted on the Knicks’ City Edition uniforms in their loss to the Detroit Pistons on April 29, then appeared on their royal blue Icon Edition design in their series-clinching win over the Pistons on May 1, suggesting it’ll be a fixture on their uniforms for the remainder of the season.
Similar designs were worn this year by the Los Angeles Lakers (Jerry West), Milwaukee Bucks (Junior Bridgeman), Orlando Magic (Pat Williams), Phoenix Suns (Al McCoy) and Portland Trail Blazers (Bill Walton), with the bands all being placed on the left shoulder of the respective jerseys.
Photos courtesy of @nyknicks on X/Twitter.
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