![]() And Barrett’s sophomore campaign represented a significant step in the right direction. Of course, players’ careers don’t end after their rookie year, which is not necessarily representative of what type of player they will become down the line. Still, the performance was discouraging enough that RAPTOR estimated Barrett’s five-year market value at just $42.8 million heading into his second NBA season, well behind fellow top-three picks Zion Williamson ($118.3 million) and Ja Morant ($96.1 million). 1Īnd you know what? That’s OK! Most rookies are pretty bad, and especially bad when they are positioned to fail - which Barrett was, due to the state of the Knicks’ roster at the time. He was on the floor a lot (30.4 minutes per game) and so had solid counter numbers (14.3 points, 5 rebounds, 2.6 assists a night), but he was a negative presence when he was on the floor. (I like to call this the Josh Allen Corollary.)īarrett checked in 488 th out of 520 qualified players in ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus during his rookie campaign and was one of the league’s least-efficient scorers, ranking 255 th out of 259 qualifiers in effective field-goal percentage. Asserting that his performance during his initial foray into the league was Actually Good undersells the dramatic improvement he made last season, and it does a disservice to his rapid development. There are some who will tell you that Barrett was actually good during his debut year. ![]() 3 overall pick - which looked somewhat unlikely in his rookie season. ![]() This looks like the continuation of a very solid progression for Barrett, one that has him on track to fulfill or even exceed standard expectations for a No. He’s shooting a career-best 51.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc while taking a career-high 6.0 3-point attempts per game. ![]() But between the presence of star coach and de facto face of the franchise Tom Thibodeau, Julius Randle’s surprising star turn and All-NBA season, Kemba Walker’s homecoming and the emergence of Bing Bong Guy, RJ Barrett has become the forgotten man - or at least an overshadowed one.īarrett is off to a scintillating start to his third NBA season, averaging 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game through the team’s first seven contests. In most recent incarnations of the team, it would have been damn-near impossible for its highest-drafted player since Patrick Ewing to escape the spotlight. It’s pretty difficult for any New York Knickerbocker to fly under the radar. ![]()
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