Matt Barnes called it a career last summer, with a long–awaited championship ring on his finger and with no illusions about his reputation. The 14–year NBA vet was a natural born football player who relished taking an unapologetic, impolite approach on the court and during his post–game interviews. By any standard, but especially for a second-round pick who specialized in dirty work, Barnes’s career was a smashing success: He banked nearly $30 million in salary from nine different franchises.
The self-described “villain” understands he’s better known for his rule-breaking than his shot-making. Barnes ran afoul of the NBA league office on at least 14 occasions during his career, receiving fines for throat-chopping, basketball-tossing, water bottle-kicking, and trash-talking, plus numerous suspensions, including one for pleading no contest to an off-court arrest.