It’s fair to consider RJ Barrett’s stunning start to this season a mirage. We’re talking about a sample size of six games, where random vagueness is more likely to occur than substantive development. Injuries to Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley have also created a situation for the Toronto Raptors where necessity is now the mother of Barrett’s evolution.

Even if you remember the signs of progress he demonstrated after switching teams last year – excelling in the shadow of Toronto’s humiliating tank job before establishing himself as Team Canada’s second-best player at the Olympics – everything what we have seen in recent weeks is quite shocking. Barrett has gone from an indistinguishable sidecar to a primary ball handler who consistently makes the right plays.

After being drafted third overall by the New York Knicks in 2019 — and being touted as the most talented high school prospect since LeBron James — it would be a bit too harsh to call Barrett a disappointment. But at the same time, he was seen as an expensive afterthought in the trade last year that sent him and Quickley to the Raptors for OG Anunoby. Until that point, Barrett had spent most of his career in bulky, lumpy formations that struggled to create space or score in the half-court and made mediocre contributions that didn’t indicate much, if any, untapped potential lurking beneath the surface.

What you saw was what you got: an inefficient second (and then third) option who stood up and down behind the three-point line and just halfway decently attacked the basket. The Knicks were never particularly good with Barrett on the court and were usually better when he sat. For such a prized draft pick, his development was rarely, if ever, prioritized. That’s not a criticism of New York’s front office, though. More the reality of Barrett’s abilities.

Today he is on a different team and has more responsibility and more freedom, and we are increasingly seeing glimpses of a much more useful player: one who is productive and comfortable with the ball in his hands, who commands attention and punishes the helper who turns too slowly. him down.

It is the score numbers that initially stand out. In four days, he dropped 31 points on the Hornets, 33 on the Lakers and then 31 on the Kings; before that point, Barrett had never scored 30 or more points in three consecutive games.

He’s more aggressive (last year’s 11.4 drives per game have shot up to 16.8 (tying Ja Morant)) and decisive. The 2.2 assists Barrett averages on those drives rank fourth in the entire league. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis converted more baskets in the restricted area. Barrett hasn’t been efficient, but he’s averaging more points (25.7) than Jalen Brunson, Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell, with independent shot creation needed in lineups with second-stringers. And under the weight of those increasing responsibilities, Barrett has not pushed the issue as much as might reasonably be expected.

Even more amazing is how he has responded to an expanded role with smart, selfless maturation. It is nothing short of transformative. Barrett somehow ranks sixth in usage rate and 12th in assists, averaging 7.0 assists per game and nearly doubling his potential assist average from last season. His actual usage rate (which more accurately reflects which players ‘use’ each asset by crediting playmakers). And finishers) is up 15.4 percentage points from last year, which is the biggest jump in the entire league. A month ago, he had never recorded more than nine assists in a game. This season, he recorded 12 assists against the Lakers, then 10 against the Nuggets.

If the numbers hold up, Barrett will be worthy of obvious All-Star consideration. But the raw output is less meaningful than how his consciousness evolved to instantly make everyone’s lives easier. Not only does he run a ton of pick-and-rolls, but he also dissects different coverages in ways that were completely foreign to him a few years ago.

On the first play below, Barrett drives up the middle and allows Domantas Sabonis to step forward to stop his penetration, forcing DeMar DeRozan to assist the helper and take away Jakob Poeltl’s throw. As if moving through choreographed action during a dress rehearsal, Barrett then uses his weak hand to deliver a perfect cross-court pass off the dribble to a wide-open Ochai Agbaji. (TL;DR: He single-handedly broke the Sacramento defense.) The next example came late in the fourth quarter: a stack pick-and-roll where De’Aaron Fox had to prevent Barrett from turning the corner on Sabonis, allowing Gradey was left behind. Dick open the key at the top.

And here he keeps his cool against a blitz from Nikola Jokic. Barrett is immediately patient and quick, dragging Denver’s chase high to the ground before throwing a dart to Jonathan Mogbo, who is rolling through the paint:

A few weeks can’t change someone’s reputation on the field. But Barrett’s mindset may have changed in an encouraging direction. He’s unselfish, executes passes with a high degree of difficulty, and generally looks like someone his teammates can rely on to get them the ball if they screen and cut hard enough.

If this version of Barrett is real and exhibits higher efficiency once his current load is lightened after Quickley and Barnes return, it could represent the seismic breakthrough every floundering franchise longs for, coincidentally enough to clarify the Raptors’ future and improve their short-term expectations . Once a solid but insignificant cog in mediocre machinery, Barrett is currently delivering All-Star caliber production. It may end up in a losing situation with low stakes, but if it stays that way, all that could change sooner or later.