RJ Barrett is officially a New York Knick.
One of the worst kept secrets in the draft was made official on Thursday night as Adam Silver announced the 19-year-old Mississauga native as the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Barrett becomes the highest selected Canadian in the draft since Andrew Wiggins was chosen first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.
MORE: Is RJ Barrett the next James Harden?
He'll become the third Canadian born player to play for the Knicks joining Ernie Vandeweghe (1950-1956) and Stewart Granger (1987) according to Basketball-Reference.
Canadian Andy Rautins who New York drafted in the second round of the 2010 draft didn't make the list as he was born in Syracuse New York.
His godfather, and two-time league MVP Steve Nash took to Twitter to give Barrett some praise.
Just sitting here telling anyone who’ll listen that my godson is on tv. About to get drafted. Probably the Knicks. No big deal.
— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) June 20, 2019
Barrett played 38 games in his one year at Duke helping the team to a 32-6 record and an ACC tournament championship.
He averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists on 45% shooting from the field.
He was named a consensus first-team All-American, first-time All-ACC and took home the Jerry West Award — given to the top male shooting guard in the NCAA.
MORE: Analyzing RJ Barrett's strengths and weaknesses
“My late grandfather, rest in peace, he was the biggest Knicks fan,” Barrett said on Wednesday.
“He’d always tell me I’d play for the Knicks. It would mean a lot to me.”
The Knicks finished with the worst record in the league at 17-65. However with young talents like Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier and Mitchell Robinson they're hoping to turn things around rather quickly.
New York has also been heavily rumoured to land key potential free agents such as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard.
