William Denard Barton III (born January 6, 1991) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played college basketball for

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, where he was named the

Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to Conference USA's (C-USA) most outstanding player. The award was first given following C-USA's inaugural 1995–96 season. Two players have received the award mult ...

in 2012. He was selected 40th overall in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

and played for the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

before being traded to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in 2015, where he eventually became their franchise leader in three-pointers made. He was traded to the

in 2022.

High school career

Barton, the No. 6-rated player in the nation in 2010, attended four schools in five years. He started his basketball career at

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

, a public college preparatory high school, for two years before reclassing and transferring to National Christian Academy in

Fort Washington, Maryland Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of the downtown Washington, DC. As of the 2020 census it had a popul ...

, to repeat his sophomore year. Barton then enrolled at Baltimore's

Lake Clifton Eastern High School Lake Clifton Eastern High School (LCEHS) was a Public school (government funded), public High school#United States, high school closed in 2003, located in the Clifton Park, Baltimore, Clifton Park area of northeast Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. ...

for his junior year. Then as a senior in 2009–10, he attended

Brewster Academy ) , established = , type = Independent boarding school , gender = Co-educational , head_name = Head of School , head = Kristy Kerin , chair_label = Chair of Trustees , chair = R C Ballentine Esq , city = ...

.Barton ready for the Garden
/ref> Barton was rated the best shooting guard by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

and

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...

in 2010. Barton chose Memphis over

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and Villanova. Barton was invited to play in the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

in 2010.

College career

He came to Memphis in 2010 and played every game in his freshman season, leading the Tigers in minutes per game at 30.6 and scoring with 12.3 points per game. Barton had a breakout sophomore season, leading the Tigers in points per game (18.0) and rebounds per game (8.0) en route to winning C-USA Player of the Year. For his career, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 32.9 minutes per game.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2012–2015)

In March 2012, Barton decided to forgo his final two years of eligibility and declare for the

. He was selected by the

with the 40th overall pick. On December 7, 2012, he was assigned to the

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He was recalled on December 9, reassigned on January 6, and recalled again on January 9. He made his first NBA start on April 10, 2013, against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. On February 26, 2014, Barton recorded a season-high 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in 124–80 win over the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

. In a televised interview following the game, when asked by a reporter about a spontaneous "Will Barton" chant that had broken out late in the contest, the guard replied, "I like to think I'm the people's champ," thereby instantly giving birth to a new nickname and a Trail Blazers

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

. He went on to record 17 points and six rebounds on May 12 to help Portland win Game 4 of their semi-final match-up against the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

Denver Nuggets (2015–2022)

On February 19, 2015, Barton was traded, along with

Víctor Claver Víctor Claver Arocas (born 30 August 1988) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Professional career Valencia (2006–2012) Claver began his playing career with the youth teams o ...

Thomas Robinson Thomas, Tom or Tommy Robinson may refer to: Artists * Thomas Robinson (composer) (c. 1560 – after 1609), English composer and music teacher * Thomas Heath Robinson (1869–1954), British book illustrator Politicians * Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron ...

and a lottery-protected 2016 first-round pick, to the

in exchange for

Arron Afflalo Arron Agustin Afflalo (born October 15, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. As a junior, he was named a consensus All-America ...

and

Alonzo Gee Alonzo Edward Gee (born May 29, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. Born and raised in Riviera Beach, Florida, Gee attended the University of Alabama, where he played for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team for four ...

. On August 7, 2015, Barton re-signed with the Nuggets. On November 13, 2015, he scored a career-high 26 points in a 107–98 win over the Houston Rockets. He topped that mark on December 20 with 32 points against the New Orleans Pelicans. Barton's strong pre-Christmas play earned him recognition as a possible contender for the 2015–16 Sixth Man of the Year award. Over the Nuggets' first 29 games of the season, Barton averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.0 minutes per game off the bench. Barton appeared in just six of the Nuggets' first 18 games of the 2016–17 season. He played in the first three games before missing the next nine after spraining his left ankle. He then returned for three before missing another for personal reasons, and then a further two with another left ankle complaint. On January 17, 2017, he had season highs of 26 points and eight assists in a 127–121 win over the

. On February 6, 2017, he scored a then season-high 31 points and hit five three-pointers in a 110–87 win over the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. On March 13, 2017, in a 129–101 win over the

, Barton scored 22 points and went 3 of 4 behind the arc and 6 of 9 overall in his most productive outing since the All-Star break. Prior to the game against the Lakers, Barton had made just five of his previous 21 three-point tries. On March 16, 2017, he scored a career-high 35 points in a 129–114 win over the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. On November 11, 2017, Barton had season highs with 26 points and nine rebounds in a 125–107 win over the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. On November 30, 2017, Barton capped a career-high 37 points with a driving layup with 3.2 seconds left to lift the Nuggets to a 111–110 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. On February 3, 2018, he scored a team-high 25 points in a 115–108 win over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. On July 9, 2018, Barton re-signed with the Nuggets. On October 20, 2018, in just the second game of the season, Barton injured his right hip on a reverse layup in the third quarter of Denver's 119–91 win over the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. He was subsequently ruled out for five to six weeks after undergoing surgery on October 23. He missed longer than expected, returning to action on January 12, 2019, against the Suns after missing 38 games; in 16 minutes, he scored six points on 2-of-10 shooting. On February 28, he recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 111–104 loss to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. On March 4, 2022, Barton made his 769th career three-pointer, surpassing

J. R. Smith Earl Joseph "J. R." Smith III (born September 9, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Smith played high school basketball at New Jers ...

as the Denver Nuggets’ all-time leader in made three-pointers in a 116–101 victory over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. On April 16, during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Barton logged 24 points and five assists in a 107–123 loss to the

Washington Wizards (2022–present)

On July 6, 2022, Barton was traded, alongside

Monté Morris Monté Robert Morris (born June 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones. Early life and high school ...

, to the

in exchange for

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope (; born February 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named a McDonald's All-American as one of the top high school b ...

and

Ish Smith Ishmael Larry Smith (born July 5, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Smith holds the record of ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 73 , , 5 , , 12.2 , , .382 , , .138 , , .769 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 41 , , 0 , , 9.4 , , .417 , , .303 , , .813 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .380 , , .222 , , .667 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 28 , , 0 , , 24.4 , , .443 , , .284 , , .810 , , 4.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 1 , , 28.7 , , .432 , , .345 , , .806 , , 5.8 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .5 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 19 , , 28.4 , , .442 , , .370 , , .753 , , 4.3 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .5 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 40 , , 33.1 , , .452 , , .370 , , .805 , , 5.0 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 43 , , 38 , , 27.7 , , .402 , , .342 , , .770 , , 4.6 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .5 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 58 , , 58 , , 33.0 , , .450 , , .375 , , .767 , , 6.3 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 56 , , 52 , , 31.0 , , .426 , , .381 , , .785 , , 4.0 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 71 , , 32.1 , , .438 , , .365 , , .803 , , 4.8 , , 3.9 , , .8 , , .4 , , 14.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 623 , , 284 , , 25.9 , , .433 , , .354 , , .787 , , 4.3 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .4 , , 11.6

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 11.6 , , .500 , , .545 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , .3 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 3 , , 23.4 , , .348 , , .273 , , .692 , , 4.8 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .6 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 1 , , 27.7 , , .442 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 4.3 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .3 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 34.4 , , .409 , , .393 , , .667 , , 5.6 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 13.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , 9 , , 22.9 , , .396 , , .339 , , .738 , , 4.1 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .4 , , 10.0

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Will 1991 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Baltimore Brewster Academy alumni Denver Nuggets players Idaho Stampede players Memphis Tigers men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Shooting guards Washington Wizards players