RJ Barrett has recently produced at the level of his Duke basketball days.
Former Duke basketball one-and-done RJ Barrett, who earned consensus All-American honors as a 2018-19 Blue Devil, may never take home an NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The New York Knicks guard certainly won’t snag that hardware this year, although he does boast encouraging season averages for any third-year pro: 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.
Across his past six outings, however, Barrett undoubtedly shined at a superstar level. The mere 21-year-old Canadian lefty averaged 28.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in that span.
That includes the Knicks’ 131-115 Monday night road victory over the Sacramento Kings. Barrett finished the contest — New York’s second straight win in the fourth game of their seven-game road trip — with 29 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
The former No. 3 overall draft pick shot 11-for-21 from the field, 3-for-6 from downtown, and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in his team-high 37 minutes on the floor.
Another Duke basketball product in action for the Knicks
RJ Barrett’s former Blue Devil teammate and new Knicks teammate, small forward Cam Reddish, suffered a scary fall after trying to block a shot in the fourth quarter of Monday’s action. The 22-year-old from Pennsylvania landed on his right shoulder and did not return to the game. His injury status remains up in the air.
Before exiting the game, Reddish tallied two points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in 16 minutes off the bench. He is now averaging 6.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 steals between his 15 outings to date for the Knicks.
Next on the slate for RJ Barrett and the New York Knicks (27-38), now No. 12 in the Eastern Conference standings, is a road battle against the Dallas Mavericks (40-25) at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.
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