TORONTO — RJ Barrett doesn’t believe he’ll get a video tribute on Saturday, if only because, as he remembers it through four-plus years calling MSG home, that doesn’t happen for current players.
“Nobody gets those,” he said.
Perhaps that was true while Barrett played for the Knicks, but it’s less about policy and more about a lack of worthy candidates.
There aren’t any players left in the NBA as deserving as Barrett for the video montage treatment.
Maybe Kristaps Porzingis, but there are other reasons, not applicable to Barrett, for the Latvian not being celebrated by the Garden.
Barrett, returning to MSG on Saturday with his new Toronto team, was polarizing by the end of his Knicks tenure for basketball reasons but hardly controversial.
He never said the wrong thing about his teammates, coaches or fans.
He was the franchise’s highest draft pick since Patrick Ewing.
He was the first Knicks first-rounder to sign an extension since Charlie Ward.
He was the second-best player on a team that ended an eight-year playoff drought, then the third-best player on a team that won a postseason series for the first time in a decade.
Asked Wednesday night for his favorite memory with the Knicks, Barrett first went the predictable route with his buzzer-beating game-winner against the Celtics in 2022.
But he quickly pivoted to Game 1 of the 2021 playoff series against the Hawks, the first time during the pandemic season that the Garden welcomed a packed house.
“My favorite moment was when we ran out of the tunnel the first playoffs after having no fans all year, and then hearing the sold-out crowd,” Barrett said. “That was insane. That was my favorite moment. And my most memorable moment was hitting the game-winner against the Celtics in the Garden. And then of course dunking on [Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic in the playoffs], that was my favorite moment, too.”
In his second and third seasons, it seemed Barrett could do no wrong.
He ascended and was memorably called “the future face of the Knicks” by Jimmy Butler.
But the tide shifted a little when the front office dangled Barrett in trade negotiations for Donovan Mitchell in 2022.
As news broke that Mitchell was instead headed to the Cavs, the Knicks simultaneously — and transparently — announced their four-year, $107 million extension with Barrett.
He explained Wednesday why there were no hard feelings.
“What do you think I was thinking? S–t, I got a payday. That’s what I was thinking,” Barrett said. “I was happy.”
The contract also meant pressure and scrutiny.
Barrett’s improvement plateaued and the separation grew larger between himself and Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson.
There were two stars and Barrett was the third option.
The trio was also an increasingly poor fit as ball-dominant lefties.
Too much redundancy, not enough space to operate.
On Dec. 30, Barrett found out he was traded while heading for a massage in the team hotel in Indianapolis, where the Knicks were preparing to face the Pacers.
His agent, Bill Duffy, broke the news with a phone call.
“I thought we were a three-headed monster [with Randle and Brunson] for a little bit,” Barrett said. “And then obviously as time goes along, they made the trade and it worked out for them. So I’m happy for them.”
Thus far, the trade has worked out for both sides.
Barrett wrapped up Wednesday’s blowout over the Heat with averages of 19.9 points on 57 percent shooting and 7.1 rebounds through eight games on his new team.
His efficiency and production are way up.
OG Anunoby, meanwhile, helped lift the Knicks to seven wins through his first nine games by defending at a high level and spacing the floor.
Barrett acknowledged he couldn’t stand in a corner on offense like Anunoby.
“That’s not me,” Barrett said. “I enjoy playing free moving. So I’m enjoying the playing style here [in Toronto].”
For Barrett, the move to Toronto was a homecoming and predictably a lovefest with the city and fan base through the opening month.
It started similarly in New York after Barrett was chosen third overall, but Barrett’s now unsure how the crowd will react to his presence for Saturday’s Raptors-Knicks showdown.
Or whether he’ll get that elusive video tribute.
“I love the fans. I don’t know what they’re going to do. But I love the fans,” he said. “I appreciate them rooting for me. I appreciate them getting on me. Everything was all love in New York. I really from the bottom of my heart truly enjoyed being there.”
“Everyone gets frustrated a little bit,” Barrett added about dealing with any negativity from the fans. “But for me, I always remembered who I am. I had my parents staying in my ear. My family staying in my ear. And I kept working. I didn’t try to get in any back-and-forths. One thing you got to know about Knicks fans, they want to win. They want to win just as much if not more than the players do. To understand that was huge for me.”
