When the NBA All-Rookie Team results came out last season, RJ Barrett couldn't believe that his name wasn't on one of the lists.

No, Barrett didn't make the First or Second Team. Instead, he had the most votes among those who just missed the cut (61).

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since those ballots were cast, Barrett didn't hold back when describing his feelings when he learned of the news.

"It bothered me a lot. Not going to lie. It bothered me a lot," Barrett said. "I really don't understand why I wasn't on it. But it was motivation -- motivation for next season. It was good to have an extra chip on my shoulder and just prove myself even more."

Barrett does have a point when you look at the stats. He was fourth among rookies in points per game (14.3), sixth in rebounds per game (5.0) and seventh in assists (2.6). Barrett also shot a modest 40.2 percent from the field, while trying to be a main scoring threat for the Knicks at 30.4 minutes per game.

At the guard positions, Memphis Grizzlies Rookie of the Year Ja Morant and undrafted Miami Heat standout Kendrick Nunn of the Miami Heat certainly deserve their first-team awards. But it's a close call with someone like the Toronto Raptors' Terence Davis II, who didn't have numbers even close to Barrett's but played for one of the best teams in the league and played a bench role that was impactful.

Either way, Barrett doesn't care. He feels he should've made one of the teams, and as such, will use that in Year 2 to prove everyone wrong.

To do so, Barrett has been working hard this offseason to further develop his game. Due to the longer period in between seasons, he took advantage of perfecting his craft over these long, quarantined months.

"I feel like I've made a lot of strides during this offseason. It was such a long time to get better, study films, really break down my game from last year and kind of just work over the course of all these months," Barrett said. "I'm really happy with where my game is right now."

Barrett added that he was working on his shot – an area of emphasis in his rookie season -- too. And not just from three-point land, but at the free-throw line where he also struggled a bit.

"I started off really bad, and that's what kind of got me to the percentage that I had (61.4)," he said. "Over the course of the year wasn’t terrible. It was those first one or two months. … I'm actually encouraged to know I kind of started at a really low point, so the only way to go is up."

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