Harrison Barnes knows these San Antonio Spurs are chasing a higher standard

San Antonio Spurs veteran forward Harrison Barnes is the proud owner of a 14-karat gold, 240-stone NBA championship ring from his days with the Golden State Warriors.

But as Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and several of his teammates prepared to play in their first NBA playoffs this month, Barnes didn’t take his cherished title ring out of the box to show his team as motivation.

The way Barnes looked at it, the Spurs’ history as five-time NBA champions was motivation enough.

“I told them we are here to get our own,” Barnes said when asked if he has shown his Spurs teammates his NBA championship ring. “When you look at our practice facility, there’s three windows that are open for trophies — if that ain’t motivation enough. That let’s you know that, ‘There’s some extra space. What do you want to do?’

“So, it’s an opportunity for guys to chase it. It’s not just, ‘Oh, you get a championship and it’s done.’ Or, ‘Oh, we won 50 games.’ OK, well, there is a group that did it for 15-plus years. ‘Oh, we got one championship.’ OK, there’s five up there. What are you doing year in and year out, not just one moment? How do you pursue that excellence going forward?”

Barnes, 33, was a part of excellence in just his third season in the NBA when the Warriors won a championship in 2015. His current Spurs rookie teammates Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant were both 9 years old at that time. Barnes also went to the NBA Finals with the Warriors in 2016.

Barnes acknowledged that going to the NBA Finals in two of his first four seasons and being in the playoffs in each of his first four campaigns spoiled him. Since leaving the Warriors in 2016, however, the 13-year NBA veteran has not returned to the Finals while playing for the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and now the Spurs.

“You absolutely [feel spoiled], especially as a young player when you have that type of quicker success,” Barnes said. “You go to the playoffs my rookie year, you go to the second round. Go to the second year, we’re losing in the first round. Then you go to back-to-back Finals. You have a sense that if you’re around guys who know how to win, the road map is there.

“Yes, we have great talent, but we also had the knowledge of how to win and wanting to win. Then I always say that I got a chance to experience what the [elite] NBA was like. After that, it was just really understanding it is extremely hard to win consistently in this league.”

While far from a given with the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder still contending, Barnes is in the best position to return to the Finals with this year’s Spurs.

The Spurs are led by the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and an NBA MVP candidate. San Antonio also has another NBA All-Star in De’Aaron Fox, one of the league’s top defenders in Stephon Castle, 2026 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson, and they have a likely All-NBA Rookie first-team selection in Harper.

Barnes is high on the Spurs’ versatile and deep roster. As a veteran, he said he tries to lead by example.

“We have depth and variability on both ends of the floor. We’re able to score in a multitude of ways. We’re able to defend in multiple ways,” Barnes said. “And because we’ve had so many different lineups throughout the season, we’ve been able to win in different ways.”

The Spurs also defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with Wembanyama out due to a concussion. San Antonio had the second-most regular-season wins this season with 62, trailing only the Thunder (64).

To win a title, however, Barnes knows the Spurs must have a healthy Wembanyama and great health overall. For example, the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA title but fell shy in 2025 after All-Star forward Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs.

Barnes said he had a long conversation two years ago with former Kings teammate Tyrese Haliburton, who is recovering from an Achilles tendon tear suffered in the 2025 NBA Finals, about the importance of being healthy in the playoffs.

“The healthiest team wins,” Barnes said. “That’s just the reality of it when you look at any championship team. We’ve had a great regular season and we put ourselves in a good position going into playoffs. It gives you a lot of perspective just to understand, one, what it means to have equity and build something in this league — to actually have a culture, have a system, have consistent ways to win.

“And then two, it’s just the opportunity, realizing that you’re not guaranteed to go this far in the playoffs, or be here because you guys are predicted to be here. Every year is so different.”

Barnes has played with NBA stars, including Fox, Haliburton, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Luka Doncic, as well as Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. However, Barnes believes Wembanyama has the potential to be one of the four or five best players in NBA history.

“He has all of the ability, the mindset, the work ethic to be on that level, to be on that Mount Rushmore [of NBA greats],” Barnes said. “If you saw him work out in the summer like I did, it’s not a surprise to see what he’s doing. When you do the conditioning — being in the gym with him, two-a-days in L.A., Paris — he’s not chasing that [star] player. He’s chasing the best version of himself every single day.”

Barnes will be playing in the 76th playoff game of his NBA career when the Spurs host the Blazers in Game 5 of their playoff series tonight. San Antonio leads 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, one win shy of the second round.

While Barnes has been on the end of both sides of several closeout games in the playoffs, this will be the first opportunity for Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, Johnson and Devin Vassell. A closeout win for the Spurs could bring valuable rest before the second round begins in San Antonio.

“The biggest thing is continuing to do what we’ve been doing, which is relying on our habits,” Barnes said. “We’ve had 82-plus games to build an identity and the coaching staff led by Mitch [Johnson] has us well-prepared every night. It’s just a matter of sticking to our standard. We’ve had great contributions from all of the guys in different moments, which is something I am very proud of.

“Whether it was Dylan and Stephon having a great scoring output, Victor anchoring both ends of the floor, Keldon being our consistent voice and energy, Fox stepping up and controlling the game from start to finish in Game 4 … so many guys stepped up with so many different parts in this series just like we’ve been doing all season.”

With the Warriors, Barnes said head coach Steve Kerr often spoke fondly about his playing days with the Spurs. Barnes saw it for himself when the Spurs acquired him from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade on July 8, 2024. Barnes has primarily been a key reserve and veteran presence for the Spurs.

During Barnes’ first season in San Antonio, he played for Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich. It’s not uncommon for Spurs players to see Hall of Famers David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili at their practice facility or games, not just as a reminder of the five championships, but as supporters.

Barnes described his time with the Spurs as “first class” and sees their legends as motivation to win a title to truly become a part of the fabric of the franchise.

“The unique thing is when you’re around David Robinson, Manu, Tim, when you’re around guys who’ve been there — guys who’ve left their stamp, not only in the franchise, but the city and the league — it’s a reminder that you’re not doing anything that they haven’t seen before,” Barnes said. “Especially within our organization, if you want to sit at that table, you need to do something.

“So, that’s always a reminder, just having those guys along, which is great. But it’s also a reminder that we as a group want to enter into that other conversation of Spurs teams.”