Scottie Barnes has burst onto the scene in his third season with the Toronto Raptors.
Barnes has been the constant bright spot in a season filled with ups and downs so far. He continues to show fans in Toronto that he is the future of this franchise.
He is coming off another incredible stat stuffing performance in the Raptors loss against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Barnes put up 29 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists on 11/19 shooting from the field and 3/3 shooting from deep.
He was seemingly the only Raptors player who showed up for this one. Barnes was a one man show and effectively got no help around him.
It’s becoming apparent that sooner or later Toronto needs to commit to building around Barnes. He looks like a legit cornerstone of this franchise who has superstar potential.
Overall, Barnes has been the most consistent and best player on the Raptors this season.
He’s leading the Raptors in points, rebounds, steals and blocks:
Scottie Barnes this season:
20.9 PPG
9.6 RPG
5.7 APG
1.7 SPG
1.5 BPGLeading the Raptors in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. https://t.co/IgJfa335MS
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 16, 2023
For the season Barnes is averaging 20.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. If he continues putting up these type of numbers, Barnes may in fact be headed to his first ever All-Star game.
Even during the Raptors losses this season, it’s been exciting to see the continued development of Barnes. The Raptors have some major decisions to make when it comes to O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. Both are unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Raptors have to decide what they want the team to look like around Barnes long term. It’s clear that Barnes is the ceterpiece of this team and now it’s time for the Raptors to acknowledge that.
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