New York Knicks: RJ Barrett is evolving into a star for the upstart Knicks

RJ Barrett is on the rise for the upstart New York Knicks.

In my last piece, “The New York Knicks are fun again” I referred to Julius Randle as the New York Knicks‘ “batman” and that the rest of their guys, although they are good, they are “Robin” as far as talent goes. Although that is true, RJ Barrett is carving out a case for himself to be mentioned in the same breath as Randle.

Earlier this week against the Washington Wizards, Barrett led a Knicks team to a 15-point comeback in the second half in the second game of a two-game series against Washington in which they had dominated the first game.

In the first half, it looked as though the Wizards wanted revenge for being embarrassed just a few days earlier when Julius Randle gave them 37 and the game was presumably over very soon after the tip-off. Unfortunately, synonymous with how the Wizards season has gone this year, they let the Knicks hang around and ultimately lost their 15-point lead.

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One would think by looking at Randle’s stat line in their most recent game against Washington (13 points on just 5-16 shooting), that the Wizards should take care of their business and avenge their loss from Tuesday night. That’s where RJ and the rest of the Knicks come into play. Alec Burk’s 27 points, herky-jerky drives to the hoop, and timely 3-pointers were huge, I’m more intrigued at the play of second-year player RJ Barrett.

RJ gave the Knicks a huge contribution of 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals, not to mention getting to the stripe for 11 attempts in which he put in eight of them. The stats were great, and they led to a win, but I’m more impressed with how much RJ has improved from his rookie season, he just looks so comfortable.

The old saying is that “rookies” or “young guys” don’t get foul calls, everyone knows that right? Well, it’s clear that RJ does not subscribe to that theory, and good for him! He is so great at drawing and finishing through contact. Specifically, in transition, there was a play last night where Brad Beal tried to intentionally foul RJ on a fastbreak by wrapping his arms up. RJ is so fast, and so strong, he was able to still finish through the contact and get an and one.

His numbers look great especially recently. RJ in the last five games for New York is averaging 20 points and eight rebounds a game. Aside from his numbers RJ also has the swagger of a player that belongs in the league. He doesn’t seem to shy away from the elite guys and he doesn’t play down to the guys that aren’t as talented as him. He’s got that alpha dog that you want in a young guy. He’s got some of the most ferocious dunks and facial expressions after nice plays in the league. There is not a lot of stoic, quiet, humbleness to him and honestly, it’s a good thing.

Once we get fans back in the stands, his attitude is going to jive perfectly with New York fans and the whole ora of Madison Square Garden. The amount of high fives and obnoxious claps by Spike Lee courtside is going to be too high to count as long as Barrett is a Knick.

Since his freshman season at Duke, Barrett has been somewhat up and down in terms of what the narrative of him was. Coming into Duke he was the No. 1 high school player in the nation, then through the first 10-12 college games, RJ was going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Then Zion Williamson became the biggest name in college hoops in the last 20 years and the surest of sure things since LeBron in the draft.

Once it was known that the 2020 draft was going to be the Zion draft, it seemed RJ’s play at Duke suffered as well. Fast forward to the draft lottery, the Knicks hopefuls are getting tattoos with Zion’s face, naming their goldfish Zion, and choosing Williamson as a middle name for their first child, all while claiming that Kyrie and KD are going to sign to the Knicks that same summer.

Well, KD and Kyrie went across the street to Brooklyn, and the Knicks got the third pick in the draft which gave them a 0% chance of drafting Zion. So needless to say, when the Knicks drafted Barrett, they weren’t exactly pumped up about it. Look, I get it, when you think you’re going to get KD, Kyrie, and Zion and are printing the championship shirts, and you end up with RJ Barrett and a foam finger, it’s going to be disappointing. New York failed to see the potential in Barrett despite his talent.

Here’s the knock-on Barrett, he’s not a great shooter, and he’s not exactly a shot creator/ bucket getter in the halfcourt. To that, I say, “cool.” I say that because you can make yourself into a capable jump shooter, look at Lonzo Ball, I’ve used this example in my writing before and for good reason, Lonzo went from the other team’s bench saying “Let em shoot it”, to “SHOOTER” after working with Fred Vinson. I’m confident RJ can get there with his stroke as well.

As far as becoming a scorer in the halfcourt, that’s tough to develop overnight, but what he lacks shot creation, he makes up for in his off-ball slashing and overall effort.

As good as RJ is off the ball, his player comparison to me is Russell Westbrook. RJ is a bit taller and longer than Russ, and they both don’t exactly have a bag of tricks they go to on offense, but they find a way to use their athleticism to fall into 20 points and 10 rebounds in a blur. Of course, Westbrook takes a higher volume of shots and has the ball in his hands more than Barrett, but they are both uber-athletic and look super similar in transition and even their celebrations after dunks. If Russ or RJ has a big play, you’re going to hear about it.

If you’re still not sold on RJ, consider this: he is one of four players in NBA history to score more than 1500 points, snatch more than 500 rebounds, and more than 250 assists in his first 100 starts before turning 21 years old. The other three players are Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Luka Doncic. The Knicks’ future is very bright with Thibs at the helm, an all-star in Julius Randle, and what I believe to be a future all-star, RJ Barrett.