Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes has been on a steady climb to becoming a star-level player, and that work was rewarded as HoopsHype named him the No. 7 small forward in the NBA in their preseason positional rankings.
The ranking touched on Barnes’ versatility as a player, saying that he can do a little bit of everything after his first ever All-Star campaign in 2023-24. HoopsHype cited the statistic that Barnes is only the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game at age 22 or younger. Luka Doncic, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson are the other three.
Barnes is limited at No. 7 because of his shooting. While he did shoot a career best from beyond the arc last season, it was still only 34.1%, below the league average. But Barnes being at No. 7 is particularly impressive considering who is above him.
Barnes is the first player under the age of 25 to appear on the list. And outside of the No. 1 overall small forward, Jayson Tatum, the rest of the top six is over the age of 30. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Jimmy Butler, in order, round of the top six.
Finishing out the top 10 below Barnes are, in order, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram and Franz Wagner. With the players above him getting older and likely to phase off of the list in the coming years, there’s a real opportunity to Barnes to establish himself as one of the best forwards in the league with another quality season in 2024-25.
The Raptors do not figure to be postseason contenders this season, but Barnes’ development is more the priority than winning games at this stage. And at 23, the sky is still the limit for the young and versatile All-Star.
Raptors have four national TV games
The Raptors are in the midst of their rebuild. Therefore, Toronto isn’t expected to win a lot of games nor be a playoff team.
This is reflected in the lack of nationally television games the Raptors have for this season. The Raptors only have four games on national TV, which includes games broadcasted on ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV. This is tied for dead last in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit Pistons.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. For the second straight season, Toronto has 1 game on ESPN. This is tied for the fewest they’ve been scheduled for since the 2013-14 season, the start of the Masai Ujiri era in Toronto. The Raptors’ lone game on ESPN will be on Jan. 8 on the road against O.G. Anunoby and the New York Knicks.
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