It’s hard to believe RJ Barrett hasn’t played 82 games as a New York Knicks player yet. But with last season cut off due to the pandemic, he has only adapted for 63 games in the NBA.
And the 2019 lottery selection is showing why fans who have already given up on him may want to rethink their rating.
While the Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks to improve to an astonishing 4-3 record in the young season, Barrett was a catalyst. He scored 26 points out of 10-19 shots, took 11 rebounds down and gave out 5 assists.
The last New York Knick to put up a stat with numbers like that in their second season was Patrick Ewing in 1987. The last three Knicks to record at least 26 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in the first two seasons were Ewing, Bill Cartwright and Walt Frazier.