Canadians in the NBA Roundup: RJ Barrett starting to feel at home in the league

RJ Barrett grew up in Toronto with dreams of one day playing in the NBA and representing his country on the international stage. He shared that goal with a number of Greater Toronto Area-based hoopers — guys who came up playing against each other in competitive gyms with real rivalries and stakes on the line.

Now, those players are reaching the NBA with increasing regularity, with a record 22 Canadians in the league and stars like Barrett making headlines on a nightly basis. The influx of Canadian talent is allowing Barrett to feel at home in the league he grew up idolizing. 

“I think growing up watching guys like Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph, those guys getting drafted, it just became the thing,” Barrett said inside the visiting locker room at Scotiabank Arena after his New York Knicks lost to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. “Especially just with my group growing up — we all wanted to get there. And a lot of us have.

“It's been amazing to see everybody I used to play against and all my friends I used to play with now coming into the league.” 

After signing a four-year, $107-million contract extension with the Knicks this off-season and establishing himself as a starter and core member of the Canadian national team, Barrett is far ahead of most 22-year-old hoopers. The left-handed wing is averaging a career-high 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists with 43/34/76 shooting splits, helping lead the Knicks to a surprising 26-23 record in just his fourth NBA season.

But it wasn’t just natural skill or size that got Barrett to where he is today — it was hard work and a competitive mentality that refused to take “no” for an answer. 

Team Canada assistant coach and Toronto-native Nathaniel Mitchell started working with Barrett when he was just 11 years old. He was immediately impressed with his work ethic — which he likely got from his father, Rowan Barrett, a former professional hooper and the current General Manager of Team Canada — witnessing Barrett wake up at six in the morning to go to the gym before middle school. He also noticed his competitive streak, as Barrett would grow increasingly upset when he messed up drills and had to run sprints or do push-ups.

“He wants to be good. He understands that he's not great at everything. And everything that he has now is something that he had to work for,” Mitchell explains. “In terms of his natural skill, he's actually had to work for it and is still working on it. And that's what has kind of pushed him because he knows he needs it in order to get to where he wants to get to.

“So with the success that he has now, it's only going to get better because of the fact that he knows he needs to work and he continues to work with that type of demeanour.”

Mitchell started working out with Barrett before he ever saw him play in a game. In drills, he saw a youthful Barrett routinely make mistakes, failing to execute simple plays like right-handed layups. And he thought to himself: This is going to take a lot of work. 

But as soon as Mitchell saw Barrett play in an actual game, he saw a different side of him.

“I think he had about 27 points in a game with the Brampton Warriors [Rep Team], playing an age group up, and I was like: this guy's aggressive!” Mitchell remembers. “He was trying to get to the rim. He was trying to score... And it was crazy just to see that he was that competitive and having that much success even though he was struggling with some of the workouts that we were doing in the gym.

“So that just showed me how when it's game time, the production still came through. Even with him needing some work or skill.”

That ability to show up in big games has been a constant throughout Barrett’s career. In high school, Barrett transferred from St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont. to the illustrious Montverde Academy, where he led the team to an undefeated season and national championship in his senior year. He was the consensus No. 1 recruit in the 2018 high school class, earning Naismith High School Player of the Year.

Then Barrett, who had played with Team Ontario and Team Canada at every available opportunity throughout his youth, led the Canadian team to gold at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup. Barrett was named tournament MVP after dropping 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists on the United States in the semifinals, and following it up with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in the gold medal game.

Finally, Barrett went to Duke for his lone year of college, dropping 33 points and six assists against Kentucky in his first regular season game, breaking the Duke freshman scoring record in a debut. Playing alongside a generational prospect in Zion Williamson, Barrett helped lead Duke to the Elite 8 in the 2019 March Madness tournament and was named USA Today's Player of the Year.

The only constant in Barrett’s career — aside from strong performances in big games — have been the challenges. Barrett’s career has not been easy. In fact, every stop has been filled with pressure and adversity. 

After being selected third overall by the Knicks in the 2019 NBA Draft, Barrett now plays for the league’s most win-starved franchise in the mecca of basketball. Barrett was drafted right behind Williamson and Ja Morant, two generational prospects who Barrett will be compared to for the rest of his career, fairly or not. Plus, Barrett has been in trade rumours his entire career, with the Knicks constantly star-hunting and Barrett’s name routinely being mentioned in potential deals.

Still, Barrett has found ways to succeed in the NBA, this year more than any. Despite never being a big part of the Knicks offence — which revolves primarily around all-star forward Julius Randle and free-agent signee Jalen Brunson — Barrett is more efficient than ever, with career-highs in two-point percentage (48.3) and true shooting percentage (53.9), while usually defending the opposing team's best wing.

Instead of complaining about a bigger offensive role or the pressure that comes with playing for the Knicks, Barrett always shows up to work with a good attitude. And his teammates and coaches have taken notice. 

“RJ is a great teammate. He comes in every day, works his butt off, competes at a high level, and never complains,” Randle said. “So he obviously has a bright future in the league and he just keeps getting better.

“RJ’s been great. He's been welcoming,” Brunson added. “Talking with him since day one, it's been great. He's a hard worker. To see everything that he's been able to do from afar and now playing with him as a teammate now, he's been a great teammate. And I just love the way he works, love the way he plays.”

Barrett is only 22 and still developing various aspects of his game, including his ability to drive right and his three-point shot. But his passion for the game and his work ethic is infectious, whether it’s with the Knicks in the NBA or with the Canadian national team in international play. In fact, Team Canada head coach Nick Nurse said Barrett is “a guy whose teammates kind of gravitate to even though he’s still pretty young.” And Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has been known to seldom play young players, is playing the 22-year-old 34.7 minutes per game, second-most on the team.

“I always think the best leadership that you could have are the things you do, not the things you say,” Thibodeau said. “Our actions reflect what your priorities are. So I think young players that are coming into the league, their challenge is [figuring out] how do you prepare each and every day? And it's not just in a game. It's how you conduct yourself in the weight room, training room, meetings, offseason, practice, everything, and I think he has grown. So I think he's learning…

“I like that he's very, very steady. And he's gotten a lot better when you look back — sometimes you tend to forget — I look back two years ago, he was averaging 14 points a game. So he's made a big jump and there's still a lot of room for growth for him.”

Barrett is focused on helping lead the No. 7 seed Knicks back into the playoffs. But as soon as the NBA season is over, he will shift his attention to the Canadian national team, a program he has been as committed to as anybody. 

Despite being unable to participate in Team Canada’s training camps and qualification games this past summer due to his NBA contract negotiations, Barrett was still around the team and plans to compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics, which would be Canada’s first Olympic Games since 2000, when his father Rowan was co-captain of the team.

“When it comes to our country, I think we lean on him to be productive and to help get everybody together, as one of those guys who's always shown up,” Mitchell said. “He's been dedicated. He's producing. And as some of the guys get older and phase out, he becomes even more of a face — a crucial part.”

“And he's a crucial part of our team now,” Mitchell continued. “I think we have a lot of players, but there's a core group of guys that are special that can help put us over the top, and he's one of them… he's basically our second leading scorer amongst [Canadian] NBA players. So I think it's just important for us to continue to grow; for him to grow. And this will be a big summer for him. This will be the biggest stage that he's played on in terms of FIBA, World Championships at the senior level. And that will be [the case] for a lot of our guys: they haven't done it. So I look forward to it and I'm hoping that he can continue to have success with us on the national team.”

For Barrett, who lights up at the mention of the Canadian national team, the journey is even sweeter because of who he is doing it with. 

“Ya, man. It's cool to be around,” Barrett said of the national team. “Just to be around a lot of guys that I've known for a lot of my life. Just seeing what we're building is pretty special.

“So I'm just happy to be a part of it.”