To no surprise, watching the New York Knicks win an NBA Championship this past season was tough for RJ Barrett.
Considering he was the third overall pick by the ball club back in 2019 and was considered a foundational cornerstone for four-and-a-half seasons before being traded to the Raptors midway through 2023-24, it's easy to see why he initially felt "salty" about their recent title run.
However, over the months since the Knicks took home the Larry O'Brien Trophy, Barrett seems to have had a bit of a change of heart, as he recently told CBC Sports that his philosophy is that if Toronto couldn't win the 2026 NBA Finals, "I'm happy they won it."
Though he may not have been a member of the organization for the past two full seasons, New York's championship run as executed would not have been possible without his sacrifice.
Knicks championship was made possible thanks to RJ Barrett
While he may not have been the only asset shipped out in the 2024 trade for OG Anunoby, Barrett was undoubtedly the most noteworthy from both a salary-matching and overall upside standpoint.
As a member of the Knicks, the swingman played 297 games and averaged 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per night. He also saw himself serving as a top-three option on two separate postseason excursions during his Big Apple tenure, with his final full go-around seeing the club advance to the second round for just the second time since the 1999-2000 season.
Despite his on-court flashes, however, when New York saw an opportunity to strike on a deal for Anunoby, they gunned for it, which, ultimately, resulted in RJ being shipped out to Toronto.
As all fans of the organization should be well aware of at this point, this deal for Anunoby proved to be absolutely vital for the Knicks' championship run, as he was arguably the club's top defensive weapon throughout the 2025-26 campaign and established himself as one of the most lethal two-way talents out on the wing behind averages of 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals on 48.4 percent shooting from the floor and 38.6 percent shooting from deep.
On top of all this, he also turned out to be the savior in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, with his game-winning tip-in in the waning seconds of regulation to cement the largest comeback in title-round history, giving the Knicks a commanding 3-1 series lead and the momentum needed to clinch their first chip in 53 years.
At this point, OG Anunoby will forever be remembered in Knicks lore as an undisputed legend. Without RJ Barrett, it's easy to believe that none of this would have been possible.
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