New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau opened his pregame press conference on their March 14 road match against the Portland Trail Blazers with a message to RJ Barrett and his family on the untimely death of his younger brother, Nathan.
“On behalf of our organization and our team, we’d like to send our heartfelt condolences to the Barrett family and the loss of their son Nathan and RJ’s brother,” Thibodeau told reporters. “So our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire family.”
RJ Barrett was the Knicks’ No.3 pick in 2019. After spending his first four-and-a-half season with the Knicks, the Canadian wing returned home to play for the Toronto Raptors as part of the OG Anunoby trade.
According to MSG Network’s color commentator Mike Breen, Nathan passed away on Tuesday, March 12, but the news of his death was only reported on Thursday, March 14.
Tom Thibodeau and Mike Breen with condolences to the Barrett family on behalf of the Knicks
The Barrett family released a statement shortly after the news spread out.
“”It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the loss of our beloved son and brother, Nathan Tyler Barrett, who passed away on Tuesday, March 12, surrounded by his family, church and friends. While our family is devastated by this great loss, we will continue to cherish the memories and time spent together,” the statement said.
“Nathan was a God-fearing young man of strong character. He was thoughtful, kind, loving, compassionate, creative, admirable and driven.
During this difficult time, our family would like to ask for privacy but greatly appreciates the outpouring of love, support and prayers that we have been receiving. Though his time with us was brief, he will live forever in our hearts.”
Nathan also attended Montverde Academy in Florida in high school like his older brother, RJ.
Knicks Continue Winning Ways with OG Anunoby
The Knicks improved to 14-2 with Anunoby after their 105-93 rout of the Trail Blazers on the road.
Anunoby finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals but not after a re-injury scare in his surgically repaired right elbow in the second quarter.
The Knicks survived it as Anunoby returned to finish the game in the second half, playing 21 of his 36 minutes of court time.
Both Anunoby and Thibodeau brushed off the incident.
“It’s just sore,” Anunoby told reporters, per The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “Nothing really happened. Just went for a ball. And it hurt randomly, but it’s fine.”
“There’s gonna be some times where there’s gonna be soreness,” Thibodeau told reporters, per New York Basketball on X, formerly Twitter. “He played through it.
Knicks’ Defense Back on Top
The Knicks have held their last four opponents under 100 points as their defense. In that span, the Knicks are No. 1 on defensive rating (90.5) by a wide margin. The New Orleans Pelicans are a distant second with a 105.4 defensive rating.
Before they went out for this four-game road trip, the Knicks had held their last three opponents under 80 points.
They have never been that dominant defensively since 2000.
“The thing is, 20 years ago that really was the style of play,” Thibodeau told reporters after their 106-79 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 12. “So to be able to do it in today’s game, it’s a credit to the team and you have to be tied together and you have to be working together and have to be able to count on each other and I think that’s the way our team is playing.”
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Tom Thibodeau Issues Statement on Ex-Knicks Player’s Brother’s Death