LILLE (France) - As far as dynamic duos go, Batman had Robin. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. And the 2024 Olympics are showing that RJ Barrett is one heck of a Robin to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Batman.
Gilgeous-Alexander was saddled with two fouls in the first quarter against Australia, but Canada didn't miss a beat thanks to Barrett. The Toronto Raptors star ended up shining the whole game for Canada in their 93-83 win, collecting team highs of 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
"The team's been working hard. I'm playing with some great players. Shai, Jamal (Murray), Dillon (Brooks), Andrew (Nembhard). They are just getting me wide open shots and I am just able to play my game," said Barrett after another strong win by Canada.
Canada head coach Jordi Fernandez admitted that Barrett once again did more than even he expected.
"Some times I don't call plays for that guy and he still scores. That's what he does. I should probably be better and call more plays for him. But he finds a way," the coach said.
"He's been just unbelievable. He had a tougher first half because we needed him to rebound but in that third quarter he was just so aggressive. He's a big wing and he has to help us rebound. He did an amazing job. We need RJ to keep doing what he's doing offensively but also on defense do his job as well.
The Australia game was just another strong showing for Barrett, who tallied 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in Canada's opening win over Greece.
Gilgeous-Alexander is Canada's main attraction - having been named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, where Canada took a historic third place; and rising to absolute megastar level in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But Gilgeous-Alexander has zero World Cup medals without Barrett.
The 24-year-old Barrett finished second to Gilgeous-Alexander in scoring and rebounds at the World Cup last summer - picking up 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds to go with 2.0 assists.
"I've been playing with RJ for a long time. I'm used to this. RJ's a dog. He'll always show up, he'll always be aggressive," Luguentz Dort added.
But Barrett does have hardware without Gilgeous-Alexander. He was named MVP as he carried Canada to the title of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - playing two years younger than the rest of the competition.
Barrett has long shown his willingness to play for Canada, starting with one window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers. He also starred for Canada at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2019 Victoria - averaging 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
While Barrett playing in the 2019 OQT, Gilgeous-Alexander was not on board. Sure, RJ Barrett is a fantastic player, but Scottie Pippen was never able to win when it mattered most without Michael Jordan.
RJ Barrett and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander certainly make a great Robin and Batman dynamic duo.
FIBA