Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Will Barton developed into a dynamic NBA scoring wing whose best years with the Denver Nuggets featured transition offense, shot creation, and versatile perimeter production as both a starter and sixth man. His profile highlights an athletic combo guard–forward archetype built on slashing, secondary playmaking, rebounding from the wing, and microwave scoring within up-tempo offensive systems.

Here’s the detailed profile of Will Barton:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: William Denard Barton III
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born January 6, 1991
  • Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
  • Weight: 181 lbs (82 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
  • Shoe Size: Size 15 (US)
  • Number: #5, #3
  • Position: Shooting Guard / Small Forward
  • High School: Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire (transferred from Baltimore City College High School)
  • College: University of Memphis (2010–2012)
  • NBA Draft: Selected 40th overall (2nd round) in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers
  • Teams Played For:
    • Portland Trail Blazers (2012–2015)
    • Denver Nuggets (2015–2022)
    • Washington Wizards (2022–2023)
    • Toronto Raptors (2023)
  • Championship Rings: No NBA Championships
  • Kids: Will Barton has one daughter.
  • Siblings: He has a brother, Antonio Barton, who also played college basketball, and a sister, Shareena Barton.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Will Barton’s player archetype was that of a slashing scoring wing, a long, instinctive perimeter creator who could attack off the bounce, heat up in transition, and chip in as a secondary playmaker. Defensively, he was better suited to an active support role than a true shutdown assignment, using length, anticipation, and effort to bother guards and wings while his lean frame made the most physical matchups harder to handle. Offensively, Barton’s value came from his downhill driving, improvised shot creation, open-floor speed, and ability to score in streaks, with enough passing feel to keep the ball moving and create for others when defenses collapsed. Physically, he stood around 6-foot-5 with a wiry build, long arms, and good elevation, which gave him the reach and fluidity to finish creatively and play bigger than his listed size. Overall, his play style mixed scoring aggression, transition energy, and freelance offensive invention, making him the kind of rhythm wing who could swing games when his jumper and dribble attack were both working.

Scouting Report

Will Barton always played like he believed there was an advantage to be found, even when the possession looked like it had stalled. That’s what made him so intriguing. He wasn’t just attacking gaps that already existed; he was trying to create them with hesitation dribbles, long crossovers and abrupt changes of pace that forced defenders to open their hips. At his best, he turned a routine high pick-and-roll into a chain reaction, collapsing the first line, hanging in the air long enough to freeze the low man, then slipping a pass to the dunker spot or firing the ball out to a shooter relocating on the wing. His scoring came in bunches because he was comfortable taking difficult pull-up jumpers if defenders backed off, yet he also had the length and body control to finish creatively around bigger rim protectors rather than challenging them head-on. The trade-off was that his confidence occasionally outran the possession. There were times he held the ball a beat too long or chased a spectacular play when the simple pass would have kept the offence flowing. Defensively, Barton covered more ground than people often remember. His long arms disrupted passing lanes, he rebounded well enough to ignite transition himself and he could slide between guarding wings and secondary ball handlers when fully engaged. The interesting thing is that his off-ball concentration fluctuated more than his on-ball effort. He could lose sight of a cutter while shading toward the ball or arrive a step late on weak-side rotations, creating breakdowns that didn’t match his physical tools. To me, Barton fit best as an offensive connector with enough freedom to improvise rather than operate inside rigid structure, especially alongside a lead playmaker who could absorb the toughest creation duties and let him attack a defence already in motion. His game shared clear similarities with Jamal Crawford’s instinct for turning broken possessions into points, while there were shades of Caris LeVert in the way he blended slippery ball handling, secondary playmaking and streaky but dangerous shot creation from the wing.

Sources:

NBA.com — Will Barton | Guard | Toronto Raptors
Basketball-Reference.com — Will Barton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
NBA.com — 2012 Draft Profile: Will Barton
NBADraft.net — Will Barton