Sports
Marvin Barnes
1952–2014 · basketball player
Flashy, immensely talented forward, nicknamed 'Bad News', whose chaotic two seasons with the Pistons in the late 1970s became one of the most colorful chapters in franchise history.
- Born
Providence, Rhode Island- Died
Providence, Rhode Island
aged 62- Birth name
- Marvin Jerome Barnes
- Also known as
- Bad News
- Detroit years
- 1976–1978
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Barnes came to Detroit in the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft as one of the most gifted big men of his era, and his first Pistons season was later described within the organization as one of the strangest in club history: a team that won plenty of games while barely functioning off the court. Barnes was arrested that season for a probation violation after an unloaded handgun was found in his bag at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and the club eventually benched him, prompting his own protest that he had not come to Detroit to sit. Teammate and Pistons legend Bob Lanier later remembered him as a player with rare, almost unmatched talent undone by his troubles. Detroit traded him to Buffalo at the start of the 1978–79 season, closing a brief but unforgettable Detroit chapter.
Highlights
- Joined the Pistons in the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft
- Played two NBA seasons in Detroit, 1976–1978
- Arrested for a probation violation at Detroit Metro Airport during his rookie Pistons season
- Remembered by teammates as one of the most talented, if troubled, players of his era
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1976–1978
Cobo Arena
Closed · 1960–2019
The Pistons' home arena during his two Detroit seasons; the building still stands as part of Huntington Place.