A native of Mississauga, Ont., and a star with Duke, the six-foot-seven Barrett was the highest-ranked player from his country on a large list of Canadians available to be drafted.
Canada entered the 60-pick event with a realistic shot of setting or matching a record for most players picked from any country outside the United States in a single draft. The record was set by France with five in 2016.
Vancouver-born and Arizona-raised Brandon Clarke of Gonzaga, Toronto's Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Virginia Tech and Burlington, Ont., native Mfiondu Kabengele of Florida State also were invited to the green room as top prospects for Thursday's draft.
WATCH | RJ Barrett drafted by Knicks:
Several other Canadians were thought to be candidates to go later in the draft.
Barrett, the son of Canadian men's basketball team general manager and former national team standout player Rowan Barrett, was the highest Canadian picked since Andrew Wiggins went first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.
WATCH | Alexander-Walker selected in 1st round by Nets:
Anthony Bennett of Brampton, Ont., also went first overall to the Cavaliers in 2013.
"I just can't tell you how excited we are to be able to land RJ Barrett and add him to the New York Knicks," general manager Scott Perry said in a conference call with reporters a few minutes after the selection was made.
"We love a lot of things about this young man starting with his tremendous competitive level; his desire to want to be great as a basketball player. He's highly accomplished. He had a tremendous freshman season here at Duke."
WATCH | Clarke 3rd Canadian taken in 1st round on Thursday:
Later Thursday, Alexander-Walker was selected 17th overall by the Brooklyn Nets and was followed soon after by Clarke, who went 21st to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kabengele then became the fourth Canadian selected in the first round on Thursday, going 27th, also to Brooklyn.
The NBA champion Toronto Raptors entered the night without a pick in the first round. They own the 59th overall pick.
Zion era begins in New Orleans
The six-foot-seven, 285-pounder compiled a career worth of highlights into just one season, becoming the third freshman to be voted player of the year by The Associated Press.
WATCH | Duke's Zion Williamson goes 1st to Pelicans:
His assault on the rims made him a favorite of college basketball fans, but his game is more than just dunks. Williamson averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 68 percent from the field.
Wearing a white suit, he hugged members of his family and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after his name was called first Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Williamson will step into an open position in New Orleans, which recently agreed to trade All-Star Anthony Davis, the last freshman to win the AP award.
Grizzlies find answer for traded Conley
The Memphis Grizzlies have wasted no time replacing veteran point guard Mike Conley by selecting Murray State sophomore Ja Morant with the second overall pick in the NBA draft.
Morant appeared to be the Grizzlies target almost as soon as the franchise got the second pick in the lottery. The predictions became more certain Wednesday when Memphis traded Conley to the Utah Jazz for a trio of players, clearing a spot for Morant with the Grizzlies firmly in rebuilding mode.
The six-foot-three Morant was the sparkplug for Murray State as the Racers won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in March.
The point guard drew little attention out of high school in South Carolina. But his draft stock skyrocketed as Morant averaged 24.5 points last season — seventh in Division I — while also handing out 10 assists and grabbing 5.7 rebounds. He became the first person to average 20 points and 10 assists since the NCAA began tracking assists in 1983-84.
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June 21, 2019 at 06:57AM
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