RJ Barrett might no longer be a Knick, but he will always be a beloved member of the team. And the coach too, it seems. Tom Thibodeau was at the pre-game presser for the New York Knicks vs Portland Trail Blazers tonight. Before anything, he expressed concern and sadness for the death of Barrett’s younger brother.

Nathan Barrett’s former youth basketball coach in Ontario shared his heartfelt sadness at the news. In the IG post, he mentioned how the 6’1 guard wanted to become a pilot. Barrett hadn’t suited up for the Detroit Pistons matchup, and he won’t be available for the Orlando Magic game, either.

New York Post’s Stefan Bondy tweeted, “Thibodeau begins pregame press conference in Portland with a statement expressing sadness over the death of RJ Barrett’s brother.”

The Raptors and Canada Basketball had released a statement on behalf of the Barrett family earlier, divulging the sad news. While they respectfully asked to give the bereaved family privacy to grieve, they also thanked everyone who reached out with sincere love and support.

How did the younger brother of RJ Barrett die?

No details about the cause of death or his age have been provided so far. But as the statement says, the family is taking time to grieve in private. So there will probably be official news about the same soon. But until then, let’s take a look at Nathan Tyler Barrett’s life.

“RIP.. Prayers Out to Barrett Family”: Fans Shook by Passing of Younger Brother of Raptors’ RJ Barrett

He was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Kesha Duhaney and Rowan Barrett. Barrett Sr. was a professional basketball player and currently holds the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager of Canada Basketball. Just like his brother, Nathan wanted to try his hand at basketball and enrolled in Montverde Academy (MVA) in Florida for the same.

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From what his former coach said in his post, he had spent a short time with Monarchs Basketball while he was in Grade 7 in Mississauga before leaving for MVA. Despite that short period, Nathan, along with his brother RJ Barrett, would visit the Monarchs whenever they came home. On a similar visit last summer, he had excitedly talked about starting school to be a pilot. But his basketball aspirations were no less than his big brother.

In the MVA prep state roster, his long-term goals were listed as wanting to play college basketball and then move on to the NBA. The colleges that he was interested in were Duke and Oregon; not that far from RJ’s final list. It was also mentioned that he knows French, which isn’t a surprise considering the family spent time in France when their father was still playing professionally.

There aren’t enough words that can capture the emotionally and mentally challenging period the Barrett family is going through now. All we can hope is RJ Barret and his family can take courage from their time with Nathan.