EXCLUSIVE: RJ Barrett on advice from dad, Canada Basketball investment & playing with Kawhi

Welcome into our CBC Sports Studio, and I'm smiling because everything basketball in Canada is on a wave right now. Infrastructure and investment with Canada basketball, the Raptors looking forward to an exciting season, and someone who is at the nexus of both those things is joining us. That would be Rowan Jr. How are you, RJ? I'm good. I'm good. I'm happy to be here. Well, you looked good at the announcement that the federal government is giving Canada basketball some money and some infrastructure. You look like a politician. Maybe you can be on a podium and talking to the masses after your career is over, but how big is this for the program that is so close to you and your family? Yeah, no, it was huge. It was a special day. Honestly, I didn't really notice or really know how important it was until I got there. I gave a little speech. I was nervous. I mean, Ontario's there, but it was a lot of fun. It's going to be a great thing just for the country and for basketball in Canada as a whole. It's going to be just something where kids can use it. I'm going to be able to use it at some point, so yeah, this is a great thing. Nervous speaking publicly, but I know privately you are vocal within that group. Little Birdie tells me on the team group chat that you're active. Talk about the Canada basketball team now that you've essentially qualified for the world's next year, but guys in the group already thinking about LA 2028. What's the mindset with the crew? Yeah, there's going to be a good part of us are still young, so we're going to be there and we all remember what it just felt like in Paris, so that feeling kind of never goes away. Everything that we've been doing since that time just to continue to grow and grow together, because we know that once we get to LA, obviously we have to handle business next summer, but once we get to LA, we'll definitely be ready. You've been doing a lot since that time. I feel like I see you everywhere in this city now that you're a hometown player. Puma Life on the feet, RJ in billboards, and now you're the face and the spokesperson for Milk. That is quite the flex. What's that like for you to have all of these opportunities off the court? It's amazing. This is the place I grew up, this place I'm from, and everything's kind of just all tying together. Basketball is going well, whether it's Team Canada, the Raptors, everything's trending in the right direction, so definitely excited for that. You mentioned the Milk. That's something that's really good for me, personally, because I'm really big on focusing on my recovery after games, after workouts, or before workouts, before games. Milk is just something easy to do. Nine grams of protein, it's just something that's easy to do that I can kind of do on a consistent basis. So yeah, like I said, everything's coming together and I'm just really excited. Talk about the rest and the recovery. It's wild to me because I literally remember interviewing you in your kitchen while you're having a bowl of cereals, and you were like this young kid with braces. Now you've filled out and you're one of the vets on the team. What have you learned about taking care of your body and being a pro throughout the years? Yeah, I'm going into my eighth season, so taking care of your body is like one of the biggest things, especially as you start to add some years on. When I was younger, my mom would always make my little brother and I drink a glass of milk. I never really understood why, but as I'm getting a little older, just your recovery and just kind of what you put into your body is just so important. So yeah, focusing on making sure that you can perform at the highest level all the time, and it also just makes you feel good as a person. We all know when we're putting the right things in our body, how it makes our body feel. When you went away for school and then started your career in the US, did you miss having an actual bag of milk and having to have it in the car? Oh yeah, I would tell my friends in America all the time, we have bags of milk and stuff like that. They thought I was crazy, but I'm like, nah, it's just a little different. We do it a little differently where I'm from. Yeah, no, that's funny that you bring that up because that was a conversation that was brought up a lot. So you started your career with the Knicks and they won the title this year. What were the emotions given? It's a team in the division, but you've got lots of ties to New York and you saw some of the guys you were teammates with win it all. For me, at first, definitely feel a little salty, a little bit in terms of, we lost the Raptors, we lost in the first round, so that hurt. But if anybody else were to win it, I'm happy they won it. I still have friends over there, I've called and checked on the guys that said congrats. One of the guys from the team is actually on the Raptors now, so things are cool. The mayor gave myself a quick shout out, so we'll always have ties there. Like I said, I'm very happy for them, but just hoping to bring some of that success over here. Well, now, given what the roster looks like, there's a lot of people who think you can push and beat that team. Were you like the rest of Canada, constantly refreshing to see, is the deal done? Is the deal done? Is the deal done? And is Kawhi finally a Raptor? When it first happened, I was excited. Then it was the land, so I'm like, let me try to just not think about it and just wait for it to happen. It was easy until we got to September. In September, we have training camp at the end of the month, so now you're like, okay, when is this thing going to start happening? But now that he's officially a Raptor, it's been amazing. It's cool. I got to cross paths with him a couple times this summer, so we're excited for him to come here. It's surreal for me. I've been a Raptors fan my whole life, so I was getting ready for the draft when the Raptors won the championship. When he made the game winner against Philly, I was jumping up and down. So from being a fan to now being able to play with him, that's going to be so special. It all comes full circle because when you made the game winner in the playoffs this year, and you had your own bounce-bounce game winner, there were fans jumping around, celebrating you. What was that like for you to be in that moment and see those fans live it through your success? I think in the moment, I was so focused on that game was going to take us to Game 7. That shot made us carry us to Game 7, so we had a chance. That's what was going through my mind at the time. But then after the season was over, and then onto the airport, I've just been around places, and a lot of people are talking about that shot. I didn't really realize the impact it had at the time, but looking back on it now, I'm like, you know what? Kind of was a pretty good shot. I've never made a shot like that before in my life. I still haven't made a shot like that. I tried to do it again. I can't do it again. I don't know. It was a moment in time, and glory to God that I was able to get that done. Well, as kids, you grow up hoping to make that shot, practicing that shot in your court, in your backyard. The celebration was hard. The react and the lack of reaction was hard. When you've seen the edits online and seen how people have taken it and made it content, what was that like for you? In those moments, I feel like things that your parents have taught you really stick with you. My dad's always been the guy that's like, act like you've been there before. If you make a big shot or you make a big play, act like you've been there before. When I made that shot, I was like, all right, let me just act like I've done this before, like I'm here. That's how I acted in the moment. On the inside, I was screaming. On the inside, I was so happy, but I was focused. Your dad says that. He lives what he preaches because when we see the family reacts, he maybe gives you a Tiger Woods fist pump and that's it. Your mom, however, she goes ham. What's it like for you to have your parents there celebrating alongside? It means a lot. Also from being able to play in New York, my parents would come to a lot of games, but they weren't able to really make a lot of them. Now being here, my parents come to every home game. It's just pretty cool to have them on the sideline. I know I look at them a lot during the game, honestly. My dad, like you said, he's going to be straight faced the whole time. He's either going to give me a fist bump or a head nod or something, but he's not going to smile at all. Then my mom's the one that's going to be cheering no matter what, up, down. She's excited. It's definitely great to have family being there. That's the prototypical Jamaican dad and Jamaican mom right there for you. Absolutely. Absolutely. I love it. Listen, you are a leading man now, not only on the court, but off the court with all your endorsements. I need you to speak directly to camera. Talk to Raptors fans and tell them what they're going to see from you and the team this season. Raptors fans, I know that we're all excited from what we did last season and what we can do this year. It's going to be an everyday grind. It's not going to be easy, but you can expect for us to play our hardest. We just added Kawhi to the mix. You can expect some good basketball from us this season, but at the end of the day, we're going to need you guys. We're going to need your support. Being able to have you guys there cheering and stuff, it really is detrimental to the other team and it gives us such a boost. We need you guys for sure. Love it. Listen, using SAT words like detrimental, you definitely went to Duke. You can be a coach afterwards the way you gave that speech. I'm so excited for everything that you've done and are continuing to do and what you're doing with your platform. Keep going. Now Raptors fans are refreshing, refreshing to see when we might get an extension for you long term. Either way, keep going, man. So proud of you. Thank you, man. Appreciate it. Appreciate you having me.