New York Knicks star RJ Barrett is staying in shape by playing in his driveway, weighs in on ‘The Last Dance,’ and shares his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment.
New York Knicks rookie RJ Barrett has been staying in shape during the coronavirus shutdown by working out with friends in his driveway. Imagine seeing that?!
"“I actually have some of my closest friends with me and we work out every day,” Barrett said to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter on Tuesday. “Just trying to stay active, whether we have to hoop in the driveway … we gotta stay active.”"
During his rookie campaign, Barrett was averaging 14.3 points on 40.2% shooting, along with 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steals with the Knicks. After struggling with his shot early in the season, he was starting to find his rhythm before the league was shutdown.
In 11 games since the All-Star Break, the Knicks lottery pick was shooting 45.2% from the field.
The Toronto native said he always grew up as a “LeBron guy,” but after watching the ESPN/Netflix documentary The Last Dance, he has a new appreciation for Jordan’s greatness.
"“Jordan is the greatest player ever, so we are all trying to get there, trying to surpass him,” Barrett said."
The Last Dance has provided an opportunity for the younger generation to learn about Jordan and the nineties Bulls—hopefully, the nineties Knicks, too.
"“I guess I didn’t really understand Jordan, fully. I think I have a better picture now,’’ Barrett said. “He had to go up against ‘The Bad Boys.’ They had ‘Jordan Rules.’ He had to go completely change his body, and do many different things. I’m not taking anything away from Kobe or LeBron, but he kind of changed the NBA, too.”"
Barrett said his father’s favorite player was Michael Jordan, so growing up, he heard plenty about his game, but the documentary shines a new light on it.
Now that he’s had some time to look back, RJ Barrett says it was Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) who gave him his “Welcome to the NBA “ moment. Full conversation w/ @RjBarrett6 here : https://t.co/ck5iP9c8tY pic.twitter.com/fZ9xmJW5Im
— Kayla Grey (@Kayla_Grey) May 8, 2020
As Barrett tries to make his own name in the NBA, he recently talked about his “Welcome to the NBA” moment as a rookie. He told SportsCentre in Canada that it came during a preseason game when Bradley Beal stepped back and hit a three over him, and told him, “Welcome to the league, Rook!” Barrett said the whole Wizards bench started talking to him. He also mentioned facing Devin Booker as another introduction to the league moment.
The Knicks selected Barrett with the third overall pick, after finishing with the worst record in the NBA in 2018-19. They are hoping the combination of Barrett and Mitchell Robinson provides a dynamic 1-2 punch for years to come.