Duke Basketball Star on Another Level Since Trade to Toronto
On Sunday night, in only his fourth game with the Toronto Raptors, Duke basketball talent RJ Barrett tallied a season-high 37 points, along with six boards, six dimes, and one steal, anchoring a 133-118 win at the Golden State Warriors. He shot 13-for-20 from the field, 5-for-8 from deep, and 6-for-8 at the line in his team-high 36 minutes.
Barrett, a 26-point scorer by halftime, joined Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic as the only players to record at least 35 points, five rebounds, five assists, five made threes, and zero turnovers in a contest this season, according to StatMuse.
The Raptors’ other NBA Blue Devil guard, sixth-year pro Gary Trent Jr., finished with 14 points, one rebound, one assist, two steals, and one block in 26 minutes off the bench.
And Toronto improved to 3-1 since landing Barrett in a trade with the New York Knicks in late December. The 23-year-old Toronto native, who was drafted No. 3 overall by the Knicks in 2019 following his one-and-done Duke basketball campaign and peaked at 20.0 points per game in 2021-22, is averaging 21.0 points in that stretch.
Moreover, his efficiency and other contributions as a Raptor are impressive thus far. He’s adding 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per outing while shooting 53.8 percent from the field, 52.6 percent beyond the arc, and 78.3 percent at the charity stripe.
RJ Barrett, Gary Trent Jr., and the Raptors (15-21) next face a road matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers (18-19) at 10:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.
