Had you told San Antonio Spurs management when they were looking to trade for Harrison Barnes this summer that he'd win Western Conference Player of the Week to cap the first month of the season, they might not have believed you. Make no mistake, they'd take it and they obviously thought he'd contribute, but their pursuit of the 32-year-old forward came because of everything but stat lines.
“I don't really have too many expectations coming into games offensively,” Barnes told Cluchpoints about his recent output.
Consider it a bonus then that Barnes joins the NBA's Eastern Conference POW Giannis Antetokounmpo for the week ending November 24.
Harrison Barnes adds scoring punch for the Spurs

In three starts during the week for the shorthanded Spurs, Barnes helped lead the young team to a 3-0 record with wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, and Golden State Warriors, two of which sit near the top of the West standings. The steady forward often described as a “true pro” averaged 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting .618 (21-34) from the field and .600 (9-15) from three-point land.
Coming into the season, Barnes averaged 14 points per contest through twelve seasons in the league. But over the last seven days, he posted three straight games with 20 or more points and recorded his first double-double since April 3, 2022, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds in a season-high 36 minutes vs. Utah on November 21. In 100 minutes of play across the three games, Barnes didn't turn the ball over.
His 22 points against a Warriors franchise with whom he entered the NBA and won a title, came with Victor Wembanyama back in the line-up after a three-game absence.




“We talked about Victor's passing, being able to cut and move off him. He draws so much attention, [teammates] get open shots. C.P. [Chris Paul], Steph [Stephon Castle]; those guys in a pick and roll – drawing to, probing, making the right reads. For me, it's just a matter of being active and taking the shots if they come to you,” Barnes told Clutchpoints.
In his first 14 games of the season, Barnes averaged 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
“I think it's mostly just reading and reacting off the guys who are out there,” Barnes responded to ClutchPoints' question about how he navigates looking for offense within the Spurs sets, especially with Wemby back.
“Sometimes you get more shots than others, but I think the biggest thing is just being active, moving,” he continued.
Now in his 13th NBA season, Barnes set an NBA record for the latest into a career for a player to win a Player of the Week award for the first time, passing Mike Conley and Jrue Holiday who both accomplished the feat in their 12th NBA seasons. He's the first Spur to earn Player of the Week honors since DeMar DeRozan in 2020.
Acting head coach Mitch Johnson admits that while the organization thought he'd play well this season, he's not quite comfortable talking expectation regarding to one of his starting forwards.
“He's been extremely efficient. He's been able to do that over his career. Expectation, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't say we're surprised either.”