Harrison Barnes, the standout forward for UNC basketball from June 2010-12, had recorded 850 starts in his 911 regular-season career in the NBA before joining the San Antonio Spurs in a trade from the Sacramento Kings in June.

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And it’s safe to say Barnes proved more than worthy of serving as the starting gun once again in the Spurs’ 120-109 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks in their regular-season opener on Thursday night.

Indeed, the 32-year-old’s production and efficiency at the start of the first quarter looked too scorching to start games on the bench. Barnes, the former No. 7 overall pick and 2015 NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, finished his first seven-minute game with the Spurs with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field and 2-for-12. He scored two goals beyond the arc while adding two rebounds, one assist, and one steal without committing a single turnover.

Of course, Harrison Barnes has finally calmed down a bit. Despite this, he shot 7-of-10 from the field, 2-of-5 from distance and 1-of-2 from the line for an encouraging 17 points and four rebounds in 29 minutes on the court. .

As for the Spurs’ rookie forward out of UNC, Harrison Ingram was on the bench against the Mavericks but did not enter the game. Therefore, the 21-year-old Dallas player, who was drafted 48th overall to San Antonio in the 2024 NBA Draft and has a two-way contract, did not have the chance to calculate his first regular season statistics. in the league

Next up for the Spurs and their pair of “Harrison” UNC basketball products is Saturday’s home game against the Houston Rockets at 8:30 p.m.

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