NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year

Another Canadian makes the list of Rookie of the Year contenders, as No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks showed in the Summer League he has the tools to be an impact player.

Likely the opening night starter for the Knicks, Barrett will get lots of opportunities for the rebuilding New Yorkers to put up the necessary numbers for a Rookie of the Year run.

He was one of the top recruits in the nation out of Florida’s Montverde Academy before teaming up with fellow lottery picks Zion Williamson and Cameron Reddish in what turned out to be a disappointing finish to the season at Duke.

Barrett didn’t disappoint as a frosh, averaging 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 35.3 minutes per game, shooting 45.4 percent overall and 30.8 percent on 6.2 deep attempts per game.

Efficiency will be a work in progress for Barrett, but he knows how to score.

In four games in the Las Vegas Summer League, he averaged 16.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 blocks in 29.2 minutes a night, but shot just 37.3 percent overall and was 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range.

Given that New York will carry Barrett, Dennis Smith and 13 power forwards on the roster (only a slight exaggeration), the kid will get plenty of chances as a rookie to put up shots and numbers.

The Knicks have had three Rookie of the Year winners, but none in more than 30 years. Mark Jackson was New York’s most recent honoree in 1987-88, preceded by Patrick Ewing in 1985-86 and Willis Reed in 1964-65.