On Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena, the Maple Mamba comes home.
Canadian rookie RJ Barrett will be healthy enough to take the floor when his New York Knicks meet the Toronto Raptors, marking the Toronto, Ont., native’s first game in his hometown as an NBA player.
While Barrett was listed as “questionable” on the Knicks’ injury report ahead of Wednesday’s tilt, there was some doubt as to whether he’d be forced to miss the homecoming. But the 19-year-old said the illness that had him briefly sidelined won’t stop him from showing up to do his thing in front of family and friends.
“Can’t miss tomorrow night,” Barrett said, according to Knicks beat writer Ian Begley. “I got to go play for everybody I love.”
Barrett also suggested he’ll pay homage to his Canadian roots before tip-off but kept the particulars under wraps.
“I’m wearing a little something for them tomorrow on the court,” he told Begley. “…It means a lot. Everybody kind of feels something for where they grew up, where they came from. For me, Canada, the whole country had my back. I love them for that.”
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The Raptors are said to have something planned for Barrett, too, with Marc Berman of the New York Post reporting that Toronto will honour Barrett with a video tribute for the Canadian men’s national team.
Needless to say, the rookie is looking forward to his first experience playing on home soil.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to play in front of the crowd, to be back home,” Barrett told Begley. “Haven’t gotten a lot of chances to play at home so for me it’s going to be exciting.”
Barrett, meanwhile, is 16 games into his first NBA campaign after earning the No. 3 selection in the 2019 NBA Draft. While the Duke Blue Devils product has looked good so far, his Knicks sit in the Eastern Conference basement with a 4-13 record.
Though forced to miss Sunday’s tilt against the Brooklyn Nets with an illness, Barrett said he’s good to go for Wednesday, the site of the return surely adding some extra motivation.
“It’s always good to go home and play in front of your family and friends that’s known you your whole life,” Knicks head coach David Fizdale said, via Begley. “I know he wants to go up there and perform for them.
“I don’t think he wants to miss this one.”
Oakville’s Ignas Brazdeikis may also get the chance to play in front of his hometown crowd Wednesday. New York announced that the second-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft had been recalled from the G League’s Westchester Knicks.
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