Harrison Barnes reaches 10,000-point milestone

Despite the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon, the Sacramento Kings were basking in a morale-boosting visit to Wisconsin. Between Tyrese Haliburton’s high school jersey retirement and a close battle with the league’s reigning champions, another player in the purple and black had something to celebrate.

Harrison Barnes reached 10,000 career points with a lay-up in the contest, adding another accolade to his seasoned NBA tenure.

“Man, I’ve played a long time,” Barnes told media postgame. “I think it’s just a testament to a lot of coaches, a lot of teammates, a lot of trainers in this league that helped me continue to get better and continue to be on the court every single night.”

Drafted in 2012, Barnes becomes the fifth player from his class to hit the 10,000-point mark, behind Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Khris Middleton and Anthony Davis.

Interim head coach Alvin Gentry described Barnes as a “pro’s pro” in the postgame media availability. The tandem’s relationship dates back to his early years in Golden State, where he became an NBA champion and built his seasoned pregame ritual that he still upholds a decade later.

Barnes has been struggling to return to his effective style of play that was leading Sacramento early in this season, following his injury in November it feels that just now he’s starting to get his bounce back. Pouring in 29 points in Saturday’s contest was an excellent sign of life, as his scoring was looking to be in mid-season form.

As the Kings look to move toward the play-in tournament come April, the Black Falcon’s contributions on the year will be invaluable, as the veteran will look to stack on top of that coveted 10K milestone.