Sizzling Start for Duke Basketball One-And-Done in France
![Former Duke basketball guard RJ Barrett Former Duke basketball guard RJ Barrett](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5616,h_3159,x_0,y_270/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/blue_devil_country/01j3vb4tmbs13jasame5.jpg)
Former Duke basketball guard RJ Barrett made his Olympic debut on Saturday. And the 24-year-old Toronto native, entering his first full season with the Toronto Raptors after getting traded from the New York Knicks back in late December, did so in impressive winning fashion.
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Barrett tallied a team-high 23 points in Canada's 86-79 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece. The 2018-19 one-and-done sensation shot 8-for-13 from the field, 1-for-4 from three, and 6-for-6 at the foul line, adding four rebounds, three assists, and one steal across his game-high 33 minutes as a starter.
OLYMPIC RJ BARRETT‼️ pic.twitter.com/j6wb4BUPdx
— Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) July 27, 2024
RJ Barrett and Team Canada next face Australia in Lille, France, at 7:30 a.m. ET Tuesday before wrapping up their Group A slate when they take on Spain at 11:15 a.m. Friday.
The other two Duke basketball talents at the 2024 Summer Olympics both play their first games in Group C action on Sunday. Team USA and Boston Celtics champion Jayson Tatum square off against Serbia at 11:15 a.m. after Blue Devil freshman big man Khaman Maluach and South Sudan battle Puerto Rico at 5 a.m.
Quarterfinal action, featuring the top two teams from each of the four groups, tips off in Paris on Aug. 6.