The road to glory isn’t all glory. Lotta middling towns to pass along the way. At some point on the way to Mike Tyson becoming “Mike Tyson,” he had to get past Marvis Frazier. Before Homer Simpson could get in the ring with Drederick Tatum, there was Boxcar Bob. For RJ Barrett, there’s a retired NBA player.
Thanks to a superlative second season, Barrett’s ceiling remains a sweet mystery. Last season he was lapped by Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, the two players taken ahead of him in the 2019 draft. RJ was the tortoise to Ja’s hare and Zion’s Bowser-with-Luigi-hops Frankenstein.