34-year-old Will Barton has called it a career after 11 seasons in the NBA. Barton would post the following statement on his official Instagram page:
Ex-Raptors wing Will Barton retires
"13 years pro. 11 years in the NBA. Man where did the time go? Crazy when I was young I never seen the end in my vision. But here we are. Man what a time I promise it was everything I dreamed of plus way more. GOD thank you for taking me on this amazing journey & blessing me with not only a talent but a vision & faith. Thanks to everyone who helped me at any stage or was apart of this ride at any point. Close or not close you were needed & I appreciate you. I pray I gave others hope & inspired some. Ups & downs it was all worth it & this game gave me purpose. I look forward to the next chapter in my life. & I know that because of you basketball I’ll be ok because you taught me to never give up & keep fighting. Thank you to the greatest game ever. Thanks for changing my life forever & giving me something to believe in. I will always love you & remember everything you taught me. Cheers…to the game forever! Damn we really did it huh…still surreal even though we planned it… Thrill you did that shorty no doubt!"Will Barton via Instagram
After a two-year stint at Memphis, Barton was taken 40th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Barton would play for four different NBA teams, but his biggest claim to fame was his contributions to the Denver Nuggets, where he played from 2015 to 2022.
There, Barton served a crucial role as a role player, working alongside a changing cast of talented supporting pieces around Nikola Jokic, including Malik Beasley, Gary Harris, and Monte Morris, just to name a few.
In fact, Barton would grow to be such an important player for the Nuggets that, during the 2022 NBA Playoffs, he arguably stood out as Denver's second most critical player in their first-round matchup against the eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors.
He finished as the third leading scorer for Denver that year, behind Jokic and Aaron Gordon, proving that while Barton was not an NBA star by any stretch, he was just as impactful as the next guy.
Barton’s run in Denver came to an end in 2022 when he was traded to the Washington Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who would eventually serve as a key acquisition in the Nuggets' eventual 2023 title victory.
Barton’s productivity took a significant nosedive in Washington, and in February 2023, he agreed to a contract buyout that allowed him to test the free agency market as a late-season addition. This brings us to Barton’s tenure with the Toronto Raptors, where he was brought in to serve as a veteran presence for a core that still featured Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and a returning Jakob Poeltl.
Barton appeared in a total of 16 games, starting for the team twice, and he put up these statistical averages with the Raptors: 4.5 points on 35.4% shooting from the field, 33.3% from three, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 13.2 minutes played per game.
I don't think Barton's production on the Raptors speaks to his prime or capabilities as player, considering he made his way up north during the tailend of his career. It would also end up proving to his final appearance on an NBA roster, as Barton instead signed deals to play abroad after the 2022-23 NBA season.
To be completely honest, Will Barton’s time in Toronto was largely a blink and you missed it type of run, but he was still part of the Raptors’ roster once upon a time.
But I definitely consider Barton to be among the most important role players of the 2010s, alongside some of my favorites like Robert Covington, Wesley Matthews, Kent Bazemore, Wayne Ellington, and Reggie Bullock, among others. They deserve credit where it's due for being the heroes who don't wear capes, always ready to serve a role whenever their team needs it the most.