Barrett played three years of high school basketball at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, finishing his career with an 86-7 record. Barrett lived for a time in France while his father was playing professionally there, then moved with his family to Mississauga, Ontario in 2008. His mother, Kesha Duhaney, was a track and field athlete at St. His father, Rowan Barrett, is the vice president and assistant GM of the Canadian National Team and a former player at St, John's. Rowan Alexander 'RJ' Barrett Jr was born in Toronto in 2000.

He also enters a contract year, which has historical precedence for stat production. With new weapons set to contribute in New York, Barrett's volume may dip slightly, but he should be in store for higher-quality looks. Given a good environment, it's a pivotal season for Barrett to showcase efficiency. Barrett's adjusted field-goal percentage jumps from 43.7 percent to 63.2 percent on catch-and-shoot opportunities when he's open. The Knicks added Jalen Brunson and possess an exciting young nucleus. Additionally, his free-throw shooting has been below average throughout his young career. However, he shot 40.1 percent from deep two seasons ago - and that sharp dip in three-point shooting is problematic. Salvaged by volume, the 22-year-old having ups and downs is natural. Nonetheless, last season marked a noticeable decline in productivity from Barrett. His final 40 games yielded 23.7 points per game on a 41.1/35.1/71.9 percent shooting slash. He also displayed great success getting to the free-throw line last season, ranking 16th in the league at 5.8 FTA per game. If Barrett begins to do as such and/or diverts eyeballs from Randle, the team’s roster makeup can pose a threat to the rest of the conference because they wouldn’t be one-dimensional on that end of the floor.Plagued by a slow start to begin the year, Barrett finished 2021-22 averaging 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists across 70 games. Randle is the star of this team, but no one has ever consistently benefited from the attention he attracts offensively. It appears they’ve gone all-in on being a wing-based operation without a dominant point guard, which was reiterated by Kemba Walker’s initial benching and now the acquisition of Reddish. The New York Knicks went 41-31 last season by being a stout defensive team and having an efficient halfcourt offense. Related: Sportsnaut’s NBA defensive rankings – Celtics remain at the top heading into the postseason RJ Barrett making the jump to stardom advances the New York Knicks The 21-year-old being an offensive pillar allows Randle to slow the game down.

Randle and Barrett are in their third season together they have chemistry and familiarity with each other. He has room for growth, has gradually improved and can get points both inside and outside. Barrett is the immediate candidate to do as such. Randle is capable of better play, especially since one could argue that he led the way for a less-proven roster last season, but the Knicks need someone to make up for his current shortcomings. At the same time, he has been less efficient and a bit hesitant with his shot selection. On one hand, Randle is the player who defenses are focusing on given his ability to stick outside jump shots, operate in isolation, score in the post and put the ball on the floor. This is what creates the potential for the New York Knicks to become a legitimate competitor in the East. That comes from both Barrett smoothing out his game and Thibodeau keeping Barrett on the floor when he’s off to an inauspicious start. The Knicks need to see more of the player who takes over games and leads the scoring charge. Other times, he looks like a player who’s trying to find himself. RJ Barrett stats (2021-22): 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 41.8/35.6/69.6Īt his best, Barrett looks like a franchise player.As a result, Barrett’s scoring and impact have been scattered. Barrett’s play is a catalyst for that, as he has been too prone to silent starts. On the other hand, his minutes have been all over the place, as head coach Tom Thibodeau has shuffled several five-man units at the end of games. For perspective, he only had one 30-plus-point game in his first and second seasons combined. Furthermore, Barrett has put together several eye-opening performances he has five 30-plus-point games this season (42 games), three of which have come over the Knicks’ last five games.

He’s finding success off the dribble while defending well and shooting from the perimeter at a respectable level. The Duke product has played to his career tendencies this season.

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