Which New York Knicks Can Succeed Julius Randle as Most Improved Player?

Do you think RJ Barrett can win the Most Improved Player Award this year?

Make no mistake, RJ Barrett is clearly the player on the Knicks roster with the most realistic shot of being the NBA’s 2022 Most Improved Player.

Heck, RJ was so great in his second year as a pro that he received two 3rd place votes for the award this past season.

At just 21 years old and already the second-best player on a team that finished 4th in the Eastern Conference, Barrett is the alluded to name who is among the most popular choices for winning the award by having a big year 3.

“Year 3 RJ Barrett” has probably been the one thing Knicks fans are most excited about.

Barrett already made strides towards stardom by improving his PPG, RPG, and APG numbers and increasing each of his shooting percentages despite an incredibly cold stretch to start the 20-21 campaign.

The biggest areas in which he took a leap were with his three-point and free-throw shooting.

Once the largest holes in his game, Barrett now shoots roughly league average at the charity stripe (75% ) while knocking down a more than efficient 40% of his 4 attempts per game from downtown.

If just one offseason of work fixed his worst issues, now imagine what Barrett will look like after an offseason of not just building on those improvements but also honing his best attributes?

It is no wonder many Knicks fans are predicting Barrett will make his first career All-Star game appearance in 2022.

If he makes another significant jump and once again helps the Knicks be a top-tier team in the conference in the first half of the season, why couldn’t he be an All-Star?

What I am most excited to see from Barrett though is his defense in Year 3.

With Reggie Bullock now headed to Dallas, it is finally time for Barrett to take on the task of being the Knicks’ go-to perimeter defender.

My favorite stat from last season about RJ was his defensive field goal percentage, which was 43.1%.

That number was better than the following players: Jimmy Butler, Jaylen Brown, Lu Dort, Myles Turner, Bam Adebayo, Paul George, Marcus Smart, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum.

To think that Barrett quietly matched up defensively at a level comparable to many of the NBA’s elite defenders speaks to the promise he has on that end of the floor.

A continued increase in his efficiency and traditional stats, more success in the win column, and the potential to further solidify himself as one of the league’s best young two-way players is nearly a surefire recipe for being among the top candidates for MIP.

He’s my pick for sure, and hopefully, he will be the pick next summer.