RJ Barrett Takes Stance on Preference of Winning Gold Medal or NBA Championship

In 2026, 10 of the 30 NBA franchises have yet to win a championship. A staggering 33% of the teams fail to achieve the ultimate goal year in and year out, and half of those teams have never even made it to the Finals. Before 2019, two more teams were on the list: the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets. The lone Canadian franchise overcame what many consider the greatest team of all time, the dynasty Golden State Warriors, while the Nuggets dominated their way to a win in 2023. Also, in 2025 the Thunder, led by their Canadian superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defeated the Indiana Pacers for the first championship since refranchising from the Seattle Supersonics. 

Canadian national team player Lu Dort was recently asked which would mean more to him: winning an NBA championship or an Olympic gold medal for Canada. He was fortunate to be a part of his first championship team in 2025 with Oklahoma City, but he has yet to reach the mountaintop with the national team. As a result, he definitively declared the gold medal to be the more desired achievement, something several non-American-born players have agreed with. 

For Raptors starter RJ Barrett, the question gets a little more complicated. Born in Toronto, the former No. 3 pick in the 2019 NBA draft is fortunate enough to represent his country and city every year, whether it be in the NBA or world games. At practice, one of the media members shared Dort’s answer and asked what his preference would be. 

“When it’s your country, it’s a little bit of a different pride,” said Barrett. “This is where I’m from; I love Canada. So for me, playing for the Raptors, I think winning the chip here [is more important to me], probably. It would be different because it’s here.” 

While seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard is back with the franchise where he won his second Finals MVP in 2019, he is the only one on the roster from the championship team. Barrett was just a week away from being drafted to the NBA when he watched his newest teammate and hometown team win its first title. Now, his role is as pivotal as anyone’s outside of Leonard and Scottie Barnes in winning a championship in 2027. 

As he enters the final year of his contract, the Raptors won’t need him to be a superhero this season. He needs to be able to produce as the best tertiary scorer in the league, something that shouldn’t be an issue if he continues his production from the first-round series in the playoffs last season. If he can improve his outside shooting and perimeter defense, there will be no reason to let him go next summer. Simultaneously, being able to make a similar amount of money without getting rid of either Immanuel Quickley or Jakob Poeltl is unlikely because of their substantial contracts. So, it’s on Barrett to either be an ample influence on the team’s championship aspirations, or else he could be sent back to America next season.