Before joining the San Antonio Spurs via a trade from the Sacramento Kings back in June, 2010-12 UNC basketball standout forward Harrison Barnes had logged 850 starting nods across his 911 career regular season outings in the NBA.

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

Indeed, the 32-year-old’s production and efficiency early in the first quarter seemed far too scorching to begin games on the bench. Barnes, a former No. 7 overall draft pick and 2015 NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, finished his opening seven-minute stretch in Spurs threads with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-2 clip beyond the arc, while adding two rebounds, one assist, and one steal without committing a single turnover.

Sure, Harrison Barnes eventually cooled off a smidge. Even so, he totaled an encouraging 17 points and four boards for the contest, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, 2-for-5 from deep, and 1-for-2 at the line across his 29 minutes on the floor.

As for the Spurs’ rookie forward out of UNC, Harrison Ingram was on the bench against the Mavericks but didn’t enter the game. So, the 21-year-old Dallas native, who came off the board No. 48 overall to San Antonio at the 2024 NBA Draft and is on a two-way contract, didn’t get a chance to tally his first regular season stats in the league.

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

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