RJ Barrett

Rowan Alexander "RJ" Barrett Jr. (born June 14, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

In the 2005–06 season, he started playing organized basketball in the youth set-up of JDA Dijon Basket.

While living in France, Barrett attended a French school but was taught English by his mother.

He lived in a number of countries due to his father's career and shot around after games and practices.

Barrett additionally played basketball with players his age through the clubs his father was a part of.

His family settled in Mississauga, Ontario in 2008, when his father left professional basketball.

While growing up, he was also involved in football, 100 metres sprinting, and the high jump.

At age 12, after struggling in a basketball game and coming home crying, Barrett began focusing on basketball instead of football to avoid missing tournaments.

At that age, he told his father that he wanted to be an NBA All-Star and make the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He sometimes trained with Steve Nash, his godfather and father's friend.

Barrett, under the guidance of his father, emerged as one of the best under-12 players in Ontario.

He attended Horizon Jeunesse in Clarkson, Mississauga, leading his school team to a city title for Mississauga French elementary schools, where he was named most valuable player (MVP) despite facing older opponents.

Barrett also played for the Regional Elite Development Academy (REDA) under-12 program on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit, facing many teams from the United States.

When he was 12, he was identified by the Ontario Basketball Association as one of the best players in his age group, and he consequently trained with the Canada Basketball junior academy, through which he competed for the Ontario provincial team.

By age 15, Barrett was generally playing the point guard position.

On August 3, 2014, he scored 37 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 93–53 win over Quebec at an under-15 provincial tournament.

Through grades seven and eight, Barrett attended École Secondaire Jeunes Sans Frontières, a French language school in Brampton.

Barrett began high school at St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, whilst competing for the Brampton Warriors AAU team through the REDA.

After his 27-point effort for St. Marcellinus against Bill Crothers Secondary School on October 9, 2014, Canadian recruiting website North Pole Hoops labeled him "special" despite only being in his first year.

In February 2015, he was named MVP of the Guy Vetrie Memorial tournament after scoring 41 points and a making the game-winner for REDA in a 74–72 win over BTB Academy.

In April, Barrett was invited to the Region of Peel Secondary Schools Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) all-star game.

At the game, he was recognized as the best prospect in the ROPSSAA.

In the same month, Barrett scored a game-high 25 points in the Futures Game at the BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, which featured top grade 9 and 10 players across Canada.

In September 2015, one week after touring top prep schools in the United States, Barrett announced that he would leave St. Marcellinus.

Later in the month, he transferred to Montverde Academy, a school in Montverde, Florida, with a decorated basketball program.

Barrett made the decision in order to "take his game to another level" but described the transition as "rough".

On December 7, he chipped in a team-high 18 points in a nationally televised game versus Huntington Prep School.

Barrett erupted for 31 points on December 21, in a loss to Chino Hills High School at the City of Palms Classic quarterfinal.

On April 15, 2016, he tallied 22 points and eight rebounds at the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic International Game, earning game MVP honors.

At the end of the season, after leading Montverde Academy in scoring, Barrett was named to the MaxPreps Freshman All-American First Team.

Entering 2016–17, Barrett's sophomore season for Montverde, he was among 20 players named to the USA Today High School Sports All-USA Preseason Team.

In November 2016, he was named to the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award watch list.

With the Canadian national under-19 team, Barrett was named MVP at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup after leading his team to a gold medal.

He was a five-star recruit and the consensus top recruit in the 2018 class, earning Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year accolades in his final high school season whilst playing as a shooting guard a majority of the season.

He was ranked the top player in his class by all recruiting services and was the first player since LeBron James to sweep all major awards in high school and win the national championship.

He was selected third overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the New York Knicks after one year with the Duke Blue Devils.

Born in Toronto as the son of former basketball player Rowan Barrett, Barrett shone at St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.

He debuted for the senior team during qualification for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Barrett was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Kesha Duhaney and former professional basketball player Rowan Barrett.

Early in his childhood, he developed an interest in basketball and played with a mini-hoop in his playroom in France, where his father was playing professional basketball at the time.