Knicks’ RJ Barrett talks to JJ Reddick on Old Man and the Three, opens up about his first impression of Ja Morant
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Leading his team to a shocking second seed in the Western Conference and averaging 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, Morant is in the running for the Most Improved Player trophy as well.
Coming off of a stacked draft class, the Grizzlies superstar was drafted along with players like Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett. But arguably, Morant’s career trajectory has been the most impressive compared to others. Coming off of a smaller colligate program like Murray State, Ja was seen as a wildcard.
But right after being drafted at number 2, Morant proved otherwise. Not only did he outclass Barrett and Zion for the ROTY trophy, he has led the Grizzlies to become a contender in just 2 years. But how was Morant looked upon by his fellow draft class members like Barrett?
RJ Barrett opens up about Ja Morant and his comparisons with the Grizzlies’ guard
Knicks’ guard RJ Barrett recently made an appearance an appearance in JJ Reddick’s Old Man and the Three podcast. There the Knicks’ guard opened up about his initial impression of Morant.
“I saw his highlights at first and like I wasn’t sold at first. When I saw him take that team (Murray State) to you know march madness and then when he had a triple-double and I was like, ‘Okay, he’s real, like he’s real’.”
Not only that, but Barret also opened up about his comparisons with Ja. “One of my assistant coaches on the next, he always tells me he’s like everybody’s journey is different.”
He added, “In terms of comparing, I think teams, and where you go and how the team is set up and how all those things matter you know… Ja Morant was kind of placed into that situation where of course, he had to do it, but the organization was kind of already set up in that way already you know.”
Regardless, both Ja and Barrett have proven to be great picks for their respective teams. While Morant has become an instant superstar, Barrett was a shining light in a rather grim season for the Knicks. Will we ever see the two battle against each other in the playoffs?
