RJ Barrett's brother Nathan dies, cause of death not revealed
Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett is expected to miss his second consecutive game due to the death of his younger brother, Nathan, who died on Tuesday. He was a middle school student.
A day earlier, RJ Barrett nearly notched a triple-double at the Denver Nuggets with 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in a 125-119 loss.
RJ Barrett did not play in Wednesday's 113-104 loss to the Detroit Pistons that closed a four-game road trip.
Many in the basketball community paid their respects to the Barrett family.
Nathan's former coach with the Mississauga Monarchs, Chris Stewart, paid his respects on Instagram with a heartfelt message. Stewart posted pictures of him and Nathan alongside his older brother RJ in some photos.
The Raptors might miss RJ Barrett for several games
Ever since getting traded from the New York Knicks to the Toronto Raptors in late December, RJ Barrett, a Toronto native and member of the Canadian national team like his father, Rowan, immediately became the star of the show.
However, the Raptors (23-43) are on a five-game losing streak and are 6.5 games behind in the chase for the final play-in spot with only 16 regular-season games remaining. So, they're virtually eliminated from the postseason.
The Raptors forward took his leave of absence on Wednesday due to the death of his younger brother, Nathan. According to reports, RJ is also expected to miss their next game against the Orlando Magic on Friday. RJ Barrett may miss more time as well.
Nevertheless, Barrett has shown lots of potential being the main attraction of his team. He is averaging 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a Raptor.
Barrett has also shot the ball efficiently with Toronto with a shooting percentage of 41.7% from deep and 55.1% overall. At 23 years old, Barrett still has lots of room to grow and could bud into a star, given that the Raptors provide him with an efficient team in the coming seasons.