Marc J. Spears
By Marc J. Spears
@MarcJSpears
January 9, 2024RJ Barrett went from sleepy to very alert when he woke up to a phone call from his agent Bill Duffy on Dec. 30. To Barrett’s surprise, the New York Knicks traded him, but the “special” news for the Canadian was being dealt to his hometown Toronto Raptors.
“I had no clue. I just got the call when it happened. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ ” Barrett told Andscape recently. “I was so confused. I didn’t see it coming. When he told me the Raptors, I was like, ‘OK, at least I’m coming home.’ ”
The homecoming has been outstanding for Raptors so far as they are a 3-1 since the trade and have already had a record performance from Barrett.
Barrett scored a season-high 37 points and added five made 3-pointers during a 133-118 blowout win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday in San Francisco. It was the third-highest scoring game of Barrett’s career. His 37 points were also the most scored by a Canadian-born player in Raptors history. Barrett is averaging 21 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in four contests with Toronto.
“I’ve felt good since game one, personally, offensively,” Barrett said after the win against the Warriors. “I’ve been feeling like I’ve been playing very well. I didn’t really score the ball in a crazy way the first three games, but I’ve been efficient in trying to play the right way and help my teammates. A lot of learning going on, still learning the defensive system, trying to get better at that every day.”
Barrett was born in Toronto on June 14, 2000. He is the son of Canadian basketball legend Rowan Barrett, who played basketball at St. John’s and professionally in Europe. Barrett’s father, a Toronto native, participated in training camp for the Raptors in 1997 and 1999, played on the Canadian national team and currently serves as its general manager.
RJ Barrett grew up in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga after his father retired from pro basketball in 2008. As a kid, he became a big fan of several Raptors players as well as the colorful television broadcast team of color analyst Jack Armstrong and play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin. He was inspired by seeing the first Canadian to play in a Raptors uniform, Jamaal Magloire, also of Toronto, during the 2011-12 season.
“I loved going to the locker room and remember coming to the games,” Barrett said. “I loved watching Matty and Jack on TV every night. There are a lot of things. This is home. I liked a young DeMar [DeRozan]. A young DeMar was dunking everything. A young Terrence Ross was good. Sonny Weems played good. I got a lot of memories.”
Barrett departed from Canada to play high school basketball at Montverde Academy (Florida), where he ultimately became ESPN’s No. 1 ranked high school boys basketball player in 2018. After one season at Duke University, the Knicks selected Barrett after Zion Williamson and Ja Morant with the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Barrett believes he made an impact during 4½ seasons with the Knicks, averaging 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 297 games and two playoff appearances.
Looking back, Barrett is proud of what he did in a Knicks uniform.
“I helped build something in New York,” Barrett said. “When I came there we weren’t good. I left it a lot better than when it started. Definitely bittersweet, but I’m happy for those guys over there. They are happy about the trade they made and I wish nothing but the best for them.
“I grew up as a player and a person over there in New York. Those 4½ years, I will never forget.”
Once the dust settled after the trade, Immanuel Quickley, who was traded along with Barrett from New York to Toronto, realized that it was going to be a homecoming for Barrett. And as the two newcomers took a van to the Raptors’ practice facility for the first time, an excited Barrett pointed out Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, Osmow’s Shawarma restaurant and other local landmarks special to him.
Quickley, a Maryland native, plans to get insight from Barrett on where to eat and go in Toronto.
“RJ coming home, he is excited and happy,” Quickley said. “When we first got to Toronto, we were going to [the practice facility] and he was pointing out all the spots. ‘I used to go here when I was little … This movie theater …’ He took me to a spot after [the first] game. I’m going to need a couple more spots.”
Said Barrett: “The first thing I wanted to do when I got home was go to Osmow’s. I always get Osmow’s every time I come home. My family is excited for me to come back home and get an opportunity over here. Everybody is excited. Everybody is happy.”
On Jan. 1, Barrett played his first home game with the Raptors. The sellout crowd of 19,800 applauded loudly and some spectators gave him a standing ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup for the first time. Barrett had 19 points and nine rebounds during the Raptors’ 124-121 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Barrett described that game as the most special one he ever played in Toronto.
“We had the ovation for the starting lineups and everyone was cheering. I was like, ‘Yeah. I am home for sure,’ ” Barrett said.
Barrett is on the Canadian men’s national basketball team that has qualified for the 2024 Paris Games. Playing for the Raptors could open the door for Barrett to be a lucrative pitchman for companies in the Toronto area and Canada. Barrett is the eighth Canadian to wear the Raptors uniform after Magloire, Cory Joseph, Khem Birch, Anthony Bennett, Oshae Brissett, Dalano Banton and current Raptor Chris Boucher.
The NBA opened the season with a record 27 Canadians on rosters, including NBA champion Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2022 NBA All-Star and former NBA champion Andrew Wiggins of the Warriors. But having Barrett, a homegrown star, wearing a Raptors uniform could have the strongest impact on kids in Toronto and Canada.
“I am trying to let kids know that you can make it being from Canada and the area I’m from,” Barrett said. “Like the guys before me, watching Tristan [Thompson], Cory, … Wiggs, you can make it to the NBA. For me to make it to the NBA and come back home to play is special for me. I hope that all the kids see that …
“I want to show everyone how happy I am to be here and to help us win. That’s the main goal.”
Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.
It was literally taken from an article featuring Barrett being traded to the Raptors.
