New York Knicks: 3 Christmas wishes from Saint (K)Nick
3. A sophomore leap from RJ Barrett
A lot has been said about RJ Barrett‘s rookie campaign, which ended in him being snubbed from either All-Rookie team. Perhaps too much was expected from him after a series of very successful seasons, both in high school and in Duke.
He wrapped up his first season in the league amongst the best rookies in the league. More specifically, he ranked as the fourth-best scorer, sixth in rebounds and seventh in assists when compared to his peers.
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Barrett did all that while being shadowed by Marcus Morris and Julius Randle, both 19+ point per game scorers. Luckily for him, Morris is no longer a member of the squad and Randle will either see a decrease in his minutes due to the arrival of Obi Toppin or find his way out of New York.
Manifesting an RJ Barrett breakout sophomore season pic.twitter.com/EZTUNjpxrk
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 23, 2020
After exercising the first of two team options available in Barrett’s rookie contract, the Knicks made it official that the young Canadian will be playing Knicks basketball in 2021-22. The team is clearly trying to build around him, making the appropriate moves in the 2020 offseason.
The main reason why RJ gets so little recognition is the fact that his percentages were below average. Jimmy Butler, James Harden, Joe Johnson and Giannis Antetokounmpo are some of the many examples of NBA legends that started off with similar shooting percentages.
It is perfectly clear to the naked eye that the Knicks possess an immense amount of talent in RJ Barrett. He has the ability to become the league’s next great shooting guard and teaming him up with an excellent development coach in Tom Thibodeau will do wonders for him.