Road to Duke
Rowan Alexander Barrett Jr. was born June 14, 2000, in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Rowan Sr., was born in Scarborough to Jamaican parents. The elder Rowan hadn’t even played basketball as a child — he ran track, racing friends at recess every day. Basketball came later. He played at St. John’s, turned pro in Europe and South America, and captained the Canadian national team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His closest friend on that team was Steve Nash.
When RJ was born, Nash bought him his first crib. He became the baby’s godfather. Two-time NBA MVP. Hall of Famer. ‘Dad, what’s Uncle Steve gonna do against Kobe?’ RJ once asked his father while watching Nash on television.
RJ’s mother, Kesha Duhaney, was a nationally ranked sprinter and long jumper at St. John’s — where she met Rowan. Brooklyn-born, Jamaican descent. Her aunt Dahlia won a 4×100m gold at the 1991 World Championships for Jamaica. ‘My mom is crazy competitive. She always wants to beat my dad. But my dad never wants us to beat him. Ever.’
The family lived in France for five years — Dijon, Chalon, Lyon — where RJ played youth basketball in the JDA Dijon Basket club, wearing the same uniform and number as his father. He attended French schools. His mother taught him English at home. He grew up bilingual.
The family returned to Mississauga in 2008. At twelve, after struggling in a game and coming home crying, RJ decided to focus entirely on basketball. At fifteen, he left Canada alone for Montverde Academy in Florida. ‘The first year was definitely the worst. I was not used to being away from my parents.’ He saw them every couple months for three years.
At Montverde: #1 recruit in America. Undefeated season. National championship. Naismith Prep POY. Gatorade National POY. McDonald’s All-American (26 pts). First since LeBron to sweep all major HS awards and win a national title. Summer 2017: led Canada to FIBA U19 World Cup gold, scoring 38/13/5 vs Team USA to end America’s six-year winning streak. Tournament MVP at seventeen.
At Duke
The 2018–19 freshman class was the most hyped in college basketball history: Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones. All top-fifteen recruits. Barrett and Williamson were roommates, friends, the #1 and #2 players in America.
Barrett averaged 22.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG — 860 points, the most by a Duke freshman in history. All-ACC First Team. ACC Freshman of the Year. 33 points against North Carolina. Back-to-back 30-point games. Relentless, physical, a 6-6 wing who attacked the basket with force.
But the season will always be remembered through Zion. Williamson was a phenomenon — the shoe blowout against UNC, dunks that crashed the internet. Barrett was the #1 recruit who became the #2 story on his own team. He handled it with the quiet professionalism of a kid raised in professional locker rooms across three continents. Duke went 32–6, reached the Elite Eight, fell to Michigan State.
After Duke
New York selected Barrett 3rd overall in 2019, behind Zion (#1) and Ja Morant (#2). Madison Square Garden was supposed to be his stage. Rookie year: 14.3 PPG, youngest player in Knicks history to reach 1,000 points. Improved every year: 17.6 PPG (2020–21), 20.0 PPG (2021–22). Signed a 4-year, $120M extension in 2022.
In January 2024, traded to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby. He was going home. The kid from Mississauga who left Canada at fifteen was now playing professional basketball in the city where his father captained the national team.
But the international stage delivered his most meaningful basketball. Summer 2023: wearing the maple leaf, Barrett helped Canada win bronze at the FIBA World Cup — Canada’s first medal at a major global tournament since the 1936 Olympics. In the bronze medal game against the United States, Barrett scored 23 points, outplaying his Knicks teammates Brunson and Hart on the opposing side. He combined with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks for 93 points. His father was in the stands — the man who captained Canada at the 2000 Olympics and spent two decades building Canadian basketball. Represented Canada again at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Where Is He Now
RJ Barrett is 25. He plays for the Toronto Raptors — in the city where his father grew up, where Steve Nash changed the perception of Canadian basketball, where Vince Carter’s dunks in 2000 lit a fire still burning. Barrett is the inheritor of all of it: son of the man who runs Canada Basketball, godson of the man who proved Canadians could be MVPs.
His brother Nathan also attended Montverde. He speaks fluent French. He played piano as a child. He lived in Dijon wearing his father’s number before he was old enough for school. He came home crying at twelve and decided to dedicate his life to basketball. Left his country at fifteen. Became the #1 recruit. Beat Team USA at seventeen. Averaged 22.6 at Duke alongside the most hyped player in history. Drafted third. Signed $120 million. Got traded home. Helped his country win its first basketball medal in 87 years.
Steve Nash bought him his first crib. His mother taught him English in a French apartment. His aunt won gold in the relay for Jamaica. His father captained Canada at the Olympics. And now RJ Barrett plays for the Raptors, carrying the inheritance of a basketball family that stretches from Jamaica to Scarborough to St. John’s to Sydney to Dijon to Mississauga to Durham to Madison Square Garden and finally, home.