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RJ Barrett is using the basketball court as a refuge to help him deal with an unfathomable tragedy.
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The Toronto Raptors forward lost his 19-year-old brother Nathan to an unspecified illness, with the team announcing Nathan Barrett’s death on March 15.
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RJ Barrett understandably had been away from the team with his family until earlier this week, when he watched the Raptors fall to his former team, the New York Knicks, on Wednesday night.
Barrett isn’t sure when he will return to game action, but said Friday being around the game is helpful.
“Basketball is my sanctuary so this actually brings me peace. It helps me everyday to be here and also just be on a schedule and just be around the guys,” Barrett told reporters at Toronto’s practice facility which isn’t all that far from where he grew up in Mississauga.
“Hanging out with your teammates, it’s funny. They’re funny, you get to hang out with them, you get to go practice and even support the guys when I’m not playing. Whatever it is, just being around has been helping a lot,” Barrett said.
“I’ve had some people in my life pass but I think this one hit a little harder for me. Yeah, this one is definitely a little different, so it’s a lot tougher. I just think that I’ve gotta push forward everyday, gotta be able to try to figure it out. Because, also, if I know my brother, he would want me to be here, to be playing, to try to continue to make the Barrett legacy grow.”
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Barrett said he and his brother, who he said was his best friend, would compete at everything, including basketball. And though the older Barrett said he always won the hoop battles, Nathan was adept at everything else.
“He was the best. He was the best, man. I got basketball but he got everything else. I can’t draw, I can’t do anything else. I can play cards though — I can compete, I’ll tell you that. But he had everything else.
“Whatever he wanted to do, whatever he put his mind to he could do. Literally the last thing he was doing, he was in pilot school. So whatever he put his mind to he was able to achieve.”
The Raptors organization has been offering extensive support to Barrett and many, including head coach Darko Rajakovic, attended Nathan Barrett’s funeral.
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“The organization was able to attend the funeral and stuff. So, a lot of support. It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my family. And like I said, I’m very grateful for this organization,” Barrett said.
Barrett had been playing the best basketball of his five-year career since being acquired by the Raptors and even somehow managed to play well when he knew Nathan’s health was declining. He scored 26 points while adding nine assists and seven rebounds in a close loss at defending NBA champion Denver on March 11 before heading to be with his family.
“Even while I was playing, I knew it was kind of happening and then after the Denver game in the morning, I got I got woken up early. I had to get back to Toronto really fast,” Barrett explained. “So, I got there and I was glad I was able to get there right before he passed.
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“Everything after that, just making sure that my family and I are together, trying to keep each other strong. It’s a hard time for sure.”
In far less consequential matters, Toronto has had a rough time on the court without most of its best players, losing 12 straight games for just the sixth time ever.
A few days after welcoming OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa back to town when the New York Knicks handed the Raptors their worst home loss in franchise history, Kyle Lowry, Nick Nurse and the Philadelphia 76ers will be on hand.
Toronto has only one win against an Atlantic Division opponent all year, which would be another dubious franchise mark should the Raptors fail to beat Philadelphia or Brooklyn in the final two divisional matches of the season.
A bright spot besides Barrett being at practice was the presence of both Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl doing some on-court work and the news that Ochai Agbaji avoided serious injury after a hard fall against the Knicks.
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