RJ Barrett Reveals He's Actually Right-Handed But Shoots Lefty, Which is Nuts
By Ryan Phillips | Feb 26 2020
RJ Barrett has had a shaky rookie season for the New York Knicks and his revelation from Wednesday isn't going to make the team's fans any more comfortable. Barrett said that he's actually right-handed, but for some reason he shoots lefty. Which makes absolutely no sense.
Newsday's Laura Albanese reported that Barrett does everything but shoot with his right hand, he just feels more comfortable shooting lefty. He's also been told he has better form with his right but for some reason didn't switch:
RJ Barrett just informed us that he’s actually a righty and has better shooting form with his right. Just more comfortable shooting with his left. Huh.
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) February 26, 2020
Barrett said he does everything with his right hand, but grew up feeling more ambidextrous. His mom is a lefty, so he picked up some of her habits.
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) February 26, 2020
Just got a clarification: Barrett has been TOLD he has better shooting form as a righty. He doesn’t necessarily believe that to be the case. https://t.co/Fb5dgw8v8D
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) February 26, 2020
So yeah, that's where we're at here.
The Knicks selected Barrett with the third pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Duke product has been up and down this year, averaging 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.5 minutes per game. Those numbers aren't terrible for a rookie, but he's shooting just 39.1 percent from the field, 31.1 percent from 3-point range and just 60.1 percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, his PER is a dismal 10.06.
Call me crazy, but maybe he should consider the radical idea of shooting with his dominant hand.