Speaking on behalf of almost every NY Knicks fan, it is very exciting looking forwards to how much RJ Barrett has improved since last year.
The 21-year-old showed incredible improvement from a decent rookie season, most notably in his evolution into a 40% three-point shooter, and he looks to make another jump in his third year in the league.
NY Knicks: What’s up next for RJ Barrett?
With that in mind, certain areas would be especially nice to see Barrett focus on this year.
All young players set goals when they are in the NBA, and as fans, we set our own goals for these same players. Some of these will be higher than others, but there should be at least one goal to set a lot higher with Barrett’s serious potential.
Barrett, who is known to have an insanely strong work ethic, lived next to famous shooting trainer Drew Hanlen over the summer in Florida as the two worked out together twice a day.
When you go as far as living right next to your trainer to work out with him as much as humanly possible, this is a player who wants to and believes he will become a top NBA player.
RJ himself said he was upset that he did not make the all-rookie first team. He stated that it “bothered him a lot.” Barrett improved to becoming the second-leading scorer on a top 4 team in the Eastern Conference, which I never get tired of mentioning.
When you are a young player, especially when you’re in a big market, the fans always look at what’s next for them.
Typically around the third or fourth season, the fans will start to get hungry to see an all-star appearance or watch as the player receives some sort of recognition.
Barrett is entering his third season in the league with Knicks fans asking all these kinds of questions as they hope to see development as Barrett takes the next step up in his career.
I am one of those fans, and with Barrett being my favorite Knick, this is something I think about over 10 times a day, and here are the three goals that RJ Barrett should have going into the 2021-22 NBA season.