This NBA All-Star says RJ Barrett will be “the face of the Knicks”

The New York Knicks may have come up short in their loss to the first-place Miami Heat on Friday night, but they got a career performance from 21-year-old RJ Barrett.

Barrett had missed the past few games prior to the All-Star break with an injury he suffered late in a game, and while some were wondering if he was going to be playing at 100% health, he looked more than ready to play.

Knicks’ RJ Barrett goes for career-high

Barrett poured in a whopping 46 points, shattering his previous career-high.

It was a nonstop onslaught from Barrett, who was hitting his long-range shots, getting to the cup, and attacking transition. He also shattered his career-high in free throws.

It’s that exact kind of aggression of getting to the rim that has helped unlocked Barrett’s potential in the 2nd half of the season and this game was the best example of that yet.

Notable Miami Heat players, including both Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler had high praise for Barrett in their postgame press conferences.

Here’s what NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler had to say about RJ Barrett’s performance:

It’s not just in the description that Jimmy Butler gives of RJ Barrett but in his body language as well  — Barrett has clearly cemented himself as a rising star in his eyes.

It means a lot coming from someone like Butler, who many have compared to Barrett as a potential player to model his game after.

Both players play physical basketball on the wing, and we’ve even gotten moments in previous Heat-Knicks games where we’ve seen Butler giving Barrett some tips on the court, despite being on opposing teams.

It’s a massive game for Barrett, who has frequently been overlooked in his young career.

2022 has already been a big year for Barrett, as he’s bumped his scoring up to over 22 points per game (It will be even higher after last night).

This feels like the beginning of RJ Barrett really cementing himself as one of the game’s upcoming star players.