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Knicks' RJ Barrett Reveals 'Most Special Basketball Moment'

New York Knicks small forward RJ Barrett recalled the game that put him on the basketball map as the FIBA World Cup's tip-off looms.

Hunter De Siver

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Every NBA player remembers the game or moment that put them on the map. New York Knicks small forward RJ Barrett had his big break in 2017 while repping his native Canada.

Barrett was a member of Canada's FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup team at just 17 years old. He was the second-youngest player on the roster, but his age didn't define him at all.

The game that put him on the map was against the United States in the semi-finals in Cairo, Egypt. Against fellow future Knicks teammates Immanuel Quickley and Cam Reddish were two members of the talented American squad. Barrett logged 38 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists in Canada's historic 99-87 victory. It marked the first time in six years that the Americans had lost in that age group.

Barrett recorded a double-double to defeat Italy in the Final, 79-60, leading Canada to its first-ever gold medal. Barrett also led the tournament in scoring and was named MVP.

"(It was) the most special basketball moment of my life," Barrett told Sportsnet's Oren Weisfeld, recalling how the game helped him further embrace his nationality. “Being from Canada is something that I’ve always taken a huge, huge pride in. And there’s some people that tried to make fun at the beginning,” Barrett said. “But then I really, really showed them when I was able to go over there when we went to Egypt and won the tournament."

Barrett was a high school student at Montverde Academy in Florida, at the time and was as dominant there as he was in Cairo. The moment was even sweeter when he returned to school.

“That really was huge just for us and even for me going back to the States like: ‘Look, we went, we beat the States on the way to winning the gold,'" Barrett recalled. "That put some respect on our name down there, for sure.”

Fast forward to 2023, Barrett is one of the stars of Canada's senior group that will partake in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Asia. Barrett and Co. will face France on Friday morning in Jakarta to open group play (9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN2). 

You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver.

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

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