Earlier this month, Barnes visited Dallas Lincoln High School and shared with members of the boys and girls basketball teams the virtues of wearing a mouthguard while playing in a basketball game. It was one of those ‘been there done that and paid a heavy price for not wearing the mouthguard’ moments for Barnes.
“I’ve had my nose broken and some teeth chipped while I was in the NBA because I didn’t wear a mouthpiece,” Barnes said. “Now that I wear a mouthpiece, now that I wear protective gear, it helps, just because you’re going in the paint, you’re rebounding and elbows are flying.