Getty Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks look on during the first half at Madison Square Garden.
The 2021-22 New York Knicks are a team filled to the brim with young and talented players who, realistically, could find themselves breaking out at any given moment.
From Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickly to Cam Reddish and Quentin Grimes, Tom Thibodeau’s assortment of youthful ballers is truly one to marvel at, but perhaps the most noteworthy of them all is their rising-star wing, RJ Barrett.
Since being selected third overall back in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Duke product has quickly established himself as a key centerpiece for the franchise and, after netting a lofty four-year, $107 million extension this past summer, many are expecting year four to be his best one yet.
On October 18, Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey pushed out a piece that included one prediction for all 32 teams in the association, and, when it came to the Knicks, his bold proclamation was that Barrett will end the season being the team’s scoring leader.
“After an out-of-body experience in 2020-21 when he averaged 24.1 points, Randle returned to a level a lot closer to his norms of the past few years. Meanwhile, Barrett’s scoring average has gone up in each of his NBA seasons,” Bailey wrote.
“The addition of Jalen Brunson could take a few touches away, but he’ll also help Barrett get more easy looks.”
Since coming into the league, Barrett has seen his scoring averages steadily improve year to year and is coming off of a career-high in 2021-22 with 20.0 points per game.
Considering the wing himself has stated that he’s been working on several different moves this offseason to improve his scoring abilities, coupled with his own desire to thrust himself into the All-Star conversation, Bailey’s prediction is by no means a far-fetched one and, if the latter portion of last season is any indicator, it could even be seen as a very likely outcome.
Knicks Star’s Last 29 Games Have Been Tremendous
While his third year in New York was overall viewed as an individual success, the late stages of 2021-22 were when RJ Barrett truly exploded, at least as far as scoring is concerned.
After February’s All-Star break, the wing wound up serving as the top scoring option for the Knicks, dropping 24.5 points a night on a true shooting percentage of 50.7%, with Julius Randle finishing second with 21.1 points per game.
During this stretch, Barrett’s field goal attempt averages increased from 15.5 per game to 20.5 while his three-point attempts increased from 5.6 per game to 6.0.
This switch to Barrett serving as the team’s go-to scoring option doesn’t just seem to be a trend from the second half of last season, however, as he continued to serve in this type of role throughout all four of the Knicks’ preseason contests, where he ranked first in points (19.8), three-point attempts (6.0), and field-goal attempts (14.0).
Considering he managed to put up these numbers while generally sitting out in the fourth quarter, it is far from a “bold” prediction that, come the regular season’s end, RJ Barrett will rank as the top scorer on this New York Knicks team.
Barrett Sounds Off on Playing Ja Morant
With New York’s game one matchup against the Grizzlies right around the corner, during an October 17 media session RJ Barrett was asked by a reporter whether there’s any extra motivation when playing against Memphis guard Ja Morant considering he was selected directly after him on draft night back in 2019.
In response, the wing noted that it was “an interesting question,” though admitted that he’s always motivated to play his best regardless of who he’s playing.
“Obviously, he’s a really good player. There’s like a lot of good players in the league,” Barrett told the reporter. “I’m always trying to prove myself, so the motivation of that – everyone is trying to be the best. Everything’s a motivational [thing].”
Throughout Barrett’s tenure in the association, he has squared off against Morant and the Grizzlies on four separate occasions and boasts averages of 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.