KEY POINTS

  • Rick Barry shares how he got away wearing two different jersey numbers when he was with the Houston Rockets
  • Barry opted to wear the No. 2 and No. 4 because the No. 24 was worn by Moses Malone
  • Barry established the point-forward position during his time with the Rockets

Rick Barry, one of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players, racked up one accolade after another and went through a lot in his professional basketball career.

Most will remember him having his best years with the Golden State Warriors before wrapping up his career with the Houston Rockets in 1980.

The 77-year-old appeared in an exclusive interview on Sports For All PH podcast hosted by Vincent Juico and Brian Yalung, sharing hoops stories about his legendary career.

During the interview, there was an interesting question thrown by a viewer.

Barry wore the No. 24 in almost his entire NBA career but had to think of another when he joined the Rockets.

Emerson Colina raised an interesting trivia and asked how Barry was able to get away wearing the No. 2 and No. 4 jerseys during his time with the Rockets.

“Yeah, I don’t think that is ever going to happen again. When I went to the Rockets, Moses Malone was already wearing the number [24] and I certainly was not going to ask him to give it up. So well I just said, I’ll just wear 2 at home and 4 in away on the road and they let me do it. Nobody said anything about it,” Barry explained.

“So yeah, that is a great trivia question. Who was the only player who wore one number at home and one number on the road?”

At that time, Barry was signed as a free agent by the Rockets and the league awarded John Lucas to the Warriors as compensation.

Barry was already in the twilight of his career at this point. In his debut, he was taking on a new role as the first player coming off the bench.

It was also here where he established a different kind of role, the point-forward position. He ended his career with 502 assists, making him the only true small forward to reach the 500 mark in just one season.

Until that time, it was only John Havlicek who played the forward position that had as many as 500 assists in a season.

Unlike Barry, the eight-time NBA champion who spent all his years with the Boston Celtics played more as an off guard.

Rick Barry #15 of the Houston Rockets
Rick Barry #15 of the Houston Rockets Getty Images | Focus on Sport
RELATED STORIES