Anthony Ynique "Cat" Barber (born July 25, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

of the

Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol The Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (), also known as Liga Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional club basketball league in Portugal. History From the 2008–09 season onward, the competition has been again organised by ...

(LPB). He played three seasons of

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

, where he earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors as a junior.

High school career

Barber grew up in the same area of Virginia as

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) star

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson ( ; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rook ...

. Barber has even drawn comparisons to the former superstar in both his appearance and style of play. A standout player for Hampton High School, Barber averaged 21.0 points per game in his sophomore campaign. In 2011, Barber was named to the All-Eastern Region's first team in the

Peninsula District The Peninsula District is a district of the Virginia High School League (VHSL). It consists of public high schools in the cities of Hampton, Virginia, Hampton and Newport News, Virginia, Newport News, as well as Gloucester High School (Virginia), ...

as the only underclassman. Barber led his school to a 27–6 record and a Virginia State Title in 2012. During his championship junior season, Barber averaged 21.3 points per game, earning him Class AAA Player of the Year honors. His senior year solidified his legacy at Hampton, posting a 22–6 record and averaging 20.2 points per game. He finished his high school career with 2,097 points total. During his high school years, Barber played AAU basketball under Boo Williams. Barber was selected to the

McDonald's All American The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

Game. The

2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star game, All-star basketball game that was played on April 3, 2013 at the United Center in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls. It is the 36th annual McDonald's All-American Game for high sc ...

was held in Chicago's

United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

where Barber recorded 11 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. Barber was also able to capture a bronze medal in the 2012

Nike Global Challenge The Nike Global Challenge was an annual men's prep basketball tournament held in the Portland metropolitan area during the summer. Sponsored by Nike, Inc., games were usually played at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. The tournament star ...

College career

Barber was ranked fourth among

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s in the 2013 recruiting class, and was a highly coveted recruit. On September 15, 2012, Barber signed with North Carolina State University to play for the N.C. State basketball team after being recruited by assistant coach, Rob Moxley. In his recruitment process, Barber also looked at attending the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

or the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. In 2015–16, Barber was named first-team All-ACC and led the conference with averages of 24 points and 39 minutes played per game. He was also named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

. Over the course of his three seasons with the Wolfpack, he appeared in 104 games and posted averages of 15 points, four assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes per game. Barber finished his college career ranking 13th all time in NC State history in scoring with 1,507 points in just 3 years. On March 22, 2016, Barber declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.

Professional career

Delaware 87ers (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the

2016 NBA draft The 2016 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN, and was live streamed for the first time in NBA draft history by The Vertical. National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

, Barber joined the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On August 31, 2016, he signed with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, but was waived on October 24 after appearing in two preseason games. Five days later, he was acquired by the

Delaware 87ers Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state' ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

as an affiliate player of the 76ers.

Greensboro Swarm (2017)

On February 3, 2017, Barber was traded to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

affiliate

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

in exchange for guard

Aaron Harrison Aaron Malik Harrison (born October 28, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Diablos Rojos del México of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). He was considered one of the top high school recruits in 2013 and pla ...

New Basket Brindisi (2017)

On July 26, 2017, Barber signed with

New Basket Brindisi New Basket Brindisi, for sponsorship reasons named Valtur Brindisi or shortly Brindisi, is a professional Italian basketball based in Brindisi, Apulia. They compete in Serie A2 (basketball), Serie A2, second level of Italian basketball system. F ...

in Italy. On November 21, 2017, he parted ways with Brindisi after appearing in seven games.

Return to the Swarm (2017–2018)

On November 29, 2017, Barber returned to the

for a second stint. In 29 games played for the Swarm, Barber averaged 16.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.

Ironi Nahariya (2018)

On March 27, 2018, Barber signed with the Israeli team

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club () known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in the Liga Leumit (the second tier of Israeli basketball) and ...

for the rest of the season. On April 25, 2018, Barber recorded a season-high 25 points, shooting 5-of-8 from three-point range, along with five assists in a 77–81 loss to

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil () is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

Third stint with the Swarm (2018–2019)

For the 2018–19 season, Barber re-joined the

Erie BayHawks (2019)

On February 21, 2019, Barber was traded to the Erie BayHawks for John Gillon.

Return to Ironi Nahariya (2019)

On March 28, 2019, Barber returned to

for a second stint, signing for the rest of the season. On April 15, 2019, Barber recorded a career-high 36 points, shooting 11-of-22 from the field, along with three rebounds and two assists in a 93–96 overtime loss to

. In 10 games played for Nahariya, he averaged 16.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

College Park Skyhawks (2019–2020)

On November 8, 2019, Barber returned to the G League to play for the

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park af ...

. He was named G League player of the week on February 3, 2020, after averaging 26 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in three games. He posted 29 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals in a loss to the

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fine Foods ...

on March 10.

Mitteldeutscher BC (2021)

On February 18, 2021, Barber signed with

Mitteldeutscher BC Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club (), for sponsorship reasons named SYNTAINICS MBC, and commonly known as simply MBC, is a professional basketball club based in Weißenfels, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the first ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

Guelph Nighthawks (2021)

On April 15, 2021, Barber signed with the Guelph Nighthawks of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...

Atlanta Hawks / Return to College Park (2021–2022)

In October 2021, Barber rejoined the

. In 14 games, averaged 13.1 points, a team-high 5.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game (.445 FG%, .367 3FG%, .759 FT%). On December 25, 2021, Barber signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. and was re-acquired by College Park on January 4.

Return to the Nighthawks (2022)

On May 12, 2022, Barber was reacquired by the Guelph Nighthawks.

Budivelnyk (2022)

On August 11, 2022, Barber signed with

BC Budivelnyk BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdraw from the Superleague d ...

of the

European North Basketball League The European North Basketball League (ENBL) is regional professional men's club basketball league in northern, central and eastern Europe; it has been organised since 2021. ENBL format is based on the European Youth Basketball league (founded in ...

Third stint with College Park (2022–2023)

On December 27, 2022, Barber was reacquired by the

Scarborough Shooting Stars (2023)

On April 11, 2023, Barber signed with the

Scarborough Shooting Stars The Scarborough Shooting Stars are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in the eastern ...

. Barber would finish the season as the CEBL's all-time leading scorer with 1108 career points while also winning the CEBL Championship with the Shooting Stars that season.

Porto (2023–2024)

On July 16, 2023, Barber signed with

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

of the

Return to Scarborough (2024)

On April 24, 2024, Barber re-signed with the Shooting Stars, but due to his overseas commitments, he would only be able to rejoin the team on June 21, 2024. On July 13, 2024, Barber scored the last 24 points for the Shooting Stars in a 103–92 win over the

Edmonton Stingers The Edmonton Stingers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the HIVE arena at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The Stingers' masc ...

to set a new CEBL record for most consecutive points scored for a team in a game.

Cibona (2024)

On September 6, 2024, Barber signed with

Cibona Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and compete ...

of the Croatian League and the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

. On October 30, 2024, Barber signed with the San Diego Clippers, but was waived on November 8.

Sporting CP (2024–present)

On November 28, 2024, Barber signed with

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

of the

Personal life

The son of Pamela Barber, he has an older sister and a daughter. He majored in social work. Barber's older sister, Pam, is credited with giving him the moniker "Cat" due to his quick and agile movements as a child.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .000 , , — , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .000 , , — , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0

College

, - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" ,

, 36 , , 18 , , 24.2 , , .401 , , .261 , , .696 , , 2.0 , , 3.5 , , .6 , , .0 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 33 , , 31.7 , , .439 , , .380 , , .733 , , 3.3 , , 3.7 , , .8 , , .0 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 33 , , 38.7 , , .434 , , .361 , , .865 , , 4.6 , , 4.5 , , .6 , , .1 , , 23.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 104 , , 84 , , 31.3 , , .428 , , .347 , , .793 , , 3.3 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .0 , , 14.5

References

External links

NC State Wolfpack bioNBA.com statsScarborough Shooting Stars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Anthony 1994 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Croatia American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Portugal American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Hampton, Virginia BC Budivelnyk players College Park Skyhawks players Delaware 87ers players Erie BayHawks (2017–2019) players Greensboro Swarm players Guelph Nighthawks players Hampton High School (Virginia) alumni Ironi Nahariya players KK Cibona players McDonald's High School All-Americans Mitteldeutscher BC players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players New Basket Brindisi players FC Porto basketball players Point guards Scarborough Shooting Stars players Sportspeople from Newport News, Virginia Undrafted NBA players United States men's national basketball team players