José Juan "J.J." Barea Mora[1] (born June 26, 1984) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also played for the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks from 2006 to 2011.[2] Barea has played in the NBA, NBA Development League, NCAA and the BSN with Indios de Mayagüez and the Cangrejeros de Santurce. After playing college basketball at Northeastern University, he participated in the 2006 NBA Draft but was undrafted, and he was subsequently signed by the Dallas Mavericks following his participation in the NBA Vegas Summer league, becoming the seventh Puerto Rican to play in the NBA. He was a member of the Puerto Rican team that won the gold medal in the 2006 and 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games. Barea was the starting point guard of the Puerto Rican national team's squad that won the gold medal in the 2011 Pan American Games and the silver medal in the 2007 Pan American Games.
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Jose Juan Barea is the son of Jaime Barea and Marta Mora.[3][4] He was born and raised in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico where he lived until he was seventeen. While living in Mayagüez, Barea was a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 790 for seven years.[5] He then moved to Miami, Florida after joining the Miami Tropics program, organized by Arturo Álvarez and Miguel Mercado.[4] As part of the program, Barea enrolled at Miami Christian School, where he played his senior high school year with the school’s team.[6] During this season the team won the Class 1A state title, Barea averaged 24.8 points per game, and was selected to Florida’s All-State team and was Miami-Dade’s Player of the Year.[6]
Barea was a four-year letterman at Northeastern University from 2002 to 2006. In 2005 and 2006, as a junior and senior, he was named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's best point guard.[7] Barea was selected to the All-America East First Team twice.[8] Northeastern switched to the Colonial Athletic Association for his senior campaign and he earned All-CAA First Team honors. Barea finished his career as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 2,209 points behind Reggie Lewis.[9] He also left Northeastern as its second all-time leader in assists (721) and leader in three-point field goals made (255).
During his freshman year (2002–03), Barea led the team and was third in America East in scoring (17.0 ppg). He was selected to the America East All-Rookie Team, All-Tournament Team and All-Conference Third Team. In addition, he became the first Husky freshman to record 400 points and 100 assists in a season,[10] and led NU with a team-high 25 double-figure scoring games.
During his sophomore year (2003–04), Barea led the team and was second in the conference in scoring (20.7 ppg) and assists (5.8 apg). This made him the first Husky since Reggie Lewis in 1986–87 to average at least 20 points per game.[11] He recorded a double-double with nineteen points and ten assists in a 91–84 win over West Virginia.
During his junior year (2004–05), Barea ranked second in the America East and eighth in the country in scoring (22.2 ppg).[12] He led the conference and was fifth in the nation in assists (7.3 apg). In recognition of his accomplishments, he was given an Honorable Mention All-America by Sports Illustrated.com and recognized as an All-District 1 Second Team selection for the second consecutive year by the NABC.[13] Barea placed third in assists (218), fourth in three-pointers (68) and sixth in points (665) on Northeastern's single-season charts. He tied the school record with a career-high 41 points against Stony Brook.
During his senior year (2005–06), Barea was awarded an Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press.[14] He finished third in the country in assists (8.4 apg) and was named CAA Player of the Year,[15] earned NABC All-District 1 First Team selection and was named Mid-Major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.[16] He led Northeastern and finished 19th in the nation in scoring (21.0 ppg), including 26 points and nine assists against California. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.0 assists in two games against eventual Final Four participant, George Mason. He also scored a season-high 32 points, to go with 10 assists against Old Dominion.
In April 2006, Barea had a productive participation at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia, finishing with averages of 15 points, 13.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game while committing five turnovers in three contests.[17] Barea broke the single game and tournament assist records, dishing out 18 assists in a 118–100 victory, giving him 41 assists in three games. For his efforts, Barea was awarded the Allen Iverson Award for inspiration and effort in the competition.[18]
Barea started his professional career at the age of 17 in 2001, playing in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional de Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Indios de Mayagüez. He played in 13 games, averaging 2.1 ppg. In 2002 he returned with the Mayagüez Indios playing in 14 games and averaging 2.8 ppg. After a three year absence, Barea returned in 2006 to play for the Cangrejeros de Santurce, playing in nine games and averaging 10.4 ppg, 2.7 apg, and 2.8 rpg.[19]
Following the conclusion of his NCAA career he was described as a gifted rebounder for his size, a good passer, and a flexible shooter by scouts.[20] Barea decided to enter his name in the 2006 NBA draft.[21] He went undrafted and played in the league's offseason tournament to gain a contract as a free agent. During the summer, Barea participated with the Golden State Warriors in the Vegas Summer League.[22] He also participated with the Dallas Mavericks in the Rocky Mountain Revue, where he averaged 12.0 points, 6.7 assists, 1.7 rebounds in 25.0 minutes in three contests.[23]
On October 30, 2006 Barea received an official spot on the roster of the Dallas Mavericks for the 2006–07 NBA season. He enjoyed a successful preseason with the team, which prompted the Mavericks to give him a guaranteed $400,000 contract for one year. He debuted on November 4, 2006 as the team's second backup point guard.[24]
On January 17, 2007, Barea was assigned to the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League (NBA D-League). He played seven games in the league before being recalled by the Dallas Mavericks on February 1, 2007. Barea topped 40 points in two different games, while leading the Flyers to a 3–1 record. José had the top scoring performance of the D-League season, with 43 points on eighteen out of twenty-four shooting in a loss to Idaho.[25] He reached 40 points for the second time with 41 on 16 out of 23 shooting in a win over the Dakota Wizards.[25] Barea recorded double-doubles in his other two games on his second week, scoring 17 points with 10 assists in a win over Idaho, and 25 points with 11 assists in a win over Dakota.[25] As a result of his performance he was selected as the D-League Performer of the Week on January 29, 2007.[26] Barea's averages for that week were 31.5 points, 7.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds in four games. He shot .549 (45 out of 82) from the field. Barea is the first NBA-assigned player to be named D-League Performer of the Week.[25] The only number currently retired (#11) of the Fort Worth Flyers is that of Jose Juan Barea for his back-to-back 40 point games.
After being recalled by the Dallas Mavericks on February 1, 2007, Barea made his first career three point basket against the Golden State Warriors on March 12, 2007.[27][28] On March 14, 2007, he scored his first career block against Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns.[28] Near the end of the regular season, he was allowed more playing time by his coach. On April 11, 2007, he played against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game where in 23 minutes he scored a (then) career-high 13 points, as well as three assists and collected three rebounds. In the following game against the Utah Jazz, he played 24 minutes and surpassed his previous career-high, scoring 16 points.[28] On April 17, 2007, Barea started his first NBA game against the Warriors. He played a career-high 31 minutes, recording 13 points and 10 rebounds, thus registering his first career double double.[29]
Barea participated in the 2007 NBA Las Vegas Summer League along with Maurice Ager and Pops Mensah-Bonsu of the Mavericks. He was selected to the NBA Summer League All-Star First Team, after averaging 14.4 points per game, 6.2 assists per game and 3.0 rebounds per game. His field goal percentage in the tournament was .531 in and .429 from the three-point range. Barea led the Mavericks in scoring and assists and the team finished with a 5–0 record.[30]
Barea finished his second season with the Mavericks with an average of 4.3 points and 1.3 assists per game. In the 2007–08 season he acted as the team's starting point guard in a series of games when Devin Harris was injured. In his first start of the season, Barea scored 25 points after shooting 9–11 from the field against the Milwaukee Bucks.[31][32] In the first-round playoff series against the New Orleans Hornets, Barea played in his first post-season game, where he scored eight points.[33][34]
For the 2008–09 season, Barea's role in the team grew much more noticeable. Injuries to Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry saw Barea getting more minutes per game than in any previous NBA season. Coach Rick Carlisle began regularly using a 3-guard-lineup which included Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Barea to spark an offensive streak in games. In February 20, 2009, Barea scored a career high 26 points in a regular season game against the Houston Rockets.[35][36]
In the 2009 playoffs, Barea became a starter during the first round of the Playoffs, replacing Antoine Wright in an effort to contain Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. He scored 13 points and 7 assists in his first playoff start.[37][38]
During the 2009–2010 season, Barea averaged 7.6 points and 3.3 assists coming from the bench most of the time. He scored a season-high 23 points twice during two starts in the month of December. He also scored 14 points during the Mavericks first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs.[39]
In June 2010, the Mavericks used Barea's team option ($1.8 million) and signed him for the 2010–11 NBA season.[40][41] Barea averaged 9.5 points and 3.9 assists coming from the bench. He also scored a new career-high of 29 points on 11–21 shooting from the floor on New Years Day against the Milwaukee Bucks.[42][43] He also finished the month of February with an average of 13.6 ppg along with 5 assists.[44]
In the playoffs, the Mavericks faced the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. In the second game of the series, Barea scored 12 points from the bench to lead a fourth-quarter rally which resulted in a 93–81 win for Dallas. With the game already decided and 24 seconds remaining, Barea was clotheslined by Lakers' forward Ron Artest, which led to a suspension.[45][46] After the game, the Lakers praised Barea's game with Phil Jackson even comparing him to Chris Paul while Kobe Bryant said that "Barea kicked our asses".[47][48]
In the last game of the series, the Mavericks defeated the Lakers, eliminating them. Barea was the second-leading scorer for his team with 22 points and 8 assists. During the fourth quarter, Lakers' center Andrew Bynum threw an elbow at Barea as he was driving for a layup. Barea fell down hard while Bynum was immediately ejected.[49][50][51] Although Barea recovered and finished the game, he called the foul "dangerous". Initially Bynum was unapologetic about the incident saying "We were getting embarrassed. They were breaking us down. So I just fouled somebody",[52] but later he issued a formal apology to the league and Barea.[53] The NBA suspended Bynum for the first five games in the next season, but later shortened the suspension to four games due to the lockout-shortened season.
The Mavericks won the NBA championship in a 105–95 victory over the Miami Heat, in a game in which Barea contributed 15 points.[54] Barea is only the second Puerto Rican player to win an NBA championship, following Butch Lee.[55]
After winning the championship with Dallas, Barea became a free agent. When negotiations started, Dallas offered him a 1-year contract, but Barea declined. He said in an interview that he "was disappointed" with the offer.[56][57][58]
On December 12, 2011, it was announced that Barea signed a 4 year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. According to sources his contract would be worth around 19 million dollars. [59] [60] The Timberwolves officially announced the signing on December 14, 2011. [61]
In his first game with Minnesota, Barea scored 14 points with 2 assists and 2 rebounds on 27 minutes of play.[62][63]
Barea began his international career with Puerto Rico's Under-19 team, participating in the Under-19 World Championship where he finished in tied in the third place of the tournament's Most Valuable Player poll.[64] His next international representation came at Caguas, Puerto Rico in the Under-21 Centro Basket tournament where Puerto Rico won the gold medal. Barea was awarded the competition's Most Valuable Player recognition after leading the tournament in scoring, assists and steals.[28] His last participation at the Under-21 level occurred at the World Championships where he finished fourth in scoring, with an average of 17.6 points per game and led the competition in assists with 7.3 per game, as Puerto Rico finished seventh.[65]
In July 2006, Barea made his debut for the senior national team in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games where Puerto Rico won the gold medal. Here he scored a decisive three point basket with fourteen seconds left in the championship game against Panama, giving Puerto Rico a final advantage. In this tournament Puerto Rico finished undefeated with six straight victories. He was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Barea was the primary point guard for the Puerto Rican team that participated in the 2007 Pan American Games, where the team won the silver medal.[66] Later that year, he had limited participation in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament, where Puerto Rico won the bronze medal. In 2008, Barea participated in a series of preparatory tournaments, before attending an Olympic qualificatory event.[67][68][69][70] In these exhibition games, he performed in the team's starting position. The Olympic Qualifying Tournament began on July 14, 2008, with Barea returning to the back-up position behind Carlos Arroyo. Puerto Rico advanced to the finals, but didn't qualify to the Olympic games.[71] In this tournament Barea had averages of 12.4 points per game, 2.2 assists per game and 3.2 rebounds per game.[72]
Barea continued playing in the backup position at the 2008 CentroBasket tournament. He entered the final round leading the event in points, after scoring 31 and 30 points against Panama and the Dominican Republic.[73][74] In the last two games, Barea was placed in the team's starting lineup. Puerto Rico won the tournament's gold medal by defeating the United States Virgin Islands. Following this game, Barea received the event's Most Valuable Player award.[75] In 2009, the Mavericks didn't give Barea permission to play in the FIBA Americas Championship. This decision was based on the fact that the player had undergone surgery on his left shoulder during the post-season.[76] Barea returned to international play at the 2010 CentroBasket, serving as the national team's starting point guard, Arroyo was in turn reassigned to the regular shooting guard position.[77] Puerto Rico won its group, defeating Panama in semifinals and the Dominican Republic in the final to win the gold medal. Barea had averages of 13.8 points per game and led CentroBasket in assists per game with 7.0, earning him inclusion in the tournament's All-Star Team.[78]
Barea's height is listed as 6'0" by the NBA.[79] However, according to his mother, his real height is 5'10¾.[80] During an interview on talk show Lopez Tonight, when George Lopez asked him about his height, Barea jokingly said it was "5'11... on a good day".[81]
In 2011, Barea confirmed he was in a relationship with former Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006 and Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera.[82][83] In the summer of 2011, they confirmed that they were expecting their first baby.[84]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Northeastern | 28 | - | 32.2 | .407 | .316 | .785 | 3.0 | 3.9 | - | - | 17.0 |
| 2003–04 | Northeastern | 26 | - | 34.2 | .385 | .358 | .719 | 3.6 | 5.8 | - | - | 20.7 |
| 2004–05 | Northeastern | 30 | - | 33.2 | .419 | .321 | .784 | 4.3 | 7.3 | - | - | 22.2 |
| 2005–06 | Northeastern | 29 | - | 33.6 | .400 | .291 | .764 | 4.4 | 8.4 | - | - | 21.0 |
| Career | 113 | - | 33.3 | .404 | .321 | .764 | 3.9 | 6.4 | - | - | 20.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Fort Worth | 8 | 6 | 36.6 | .523 | .438 | .780 | 5.0 | 7.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 27.3 |
| Career | 8 | 6 | 36.6 | .523 | .438 | .780 | 5.0 | 7.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 27.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Dallas | 33 | 1 | 5.8 | .359 | .286 | .667 | .8 | .7 | .0 | .0 | 2.4 |
| 2007–08 | Dallas | 44 | 9 | 10.5 | .418 | .389 | .800 | 1.1 | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | 4.3 |
| 2008–09 | Dallas | 79 | 15 | 20.3 | .442 | .357 | .753 | 2.2 | 3.4 | .5 | .1 | 7.8 |
| 2009–10 | Dallas | 78 | 18 | 19.8 | .440 | .357 | .844 | 1.9 | 3.3 | .4 | .1 | 7.6 |
| 2010–11 | Dallas | 81 | 2 | 20.6 | .439 | .349 | .847 | 2.0 | 3.9 | .4 | .0 | 9.5 |
| Career | 315 | 45 | 17.3 | .435 | .355 | .810 | 1.8 | 2.9 | .4 | .0 | 7.1 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Dallas | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| 2008 | Dallas | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .750 | 1.000 | .000 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 8.0 |
| 2009 | Dallas | 10 | 4 | 22.1 | .437 | .313 | .692 | 2.0 | 3.4 | .3 | .0 | 7.6 |
| 2010 | Dallas | 6 | 0 | 17.5 | .405 | .400 | .333 | 2.0 | 2.5 | .3 | .2 | 5.8 |
| 2011 | Dallas | 21 | 3 | 18.6 | .419 | .320 | .794 | 1.9 | 3.4 | .3 | .0 | 8.9 |
| Career | 40 | 7 | 18.1 | .426 | .346 | .712 | 1.8 | 3.0 | .3 | .0 | 7.7 |
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Mayagüez | 13 | .440 | .625 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.1 |
| 2002 | Mayagüez | 14 | .467 | .222 | .750 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| 2006 | Santurce | 9 | .526 | .231 | .759 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 10.4 |
| Career | 36 | .460 | .302 | .733 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 4.4 |
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