The Toronto Raptors 2024-25 season has come to a close.
Toronto finished the season 30-52 and are locked into the 7th best lottery odds for May’s NBA Draft Lottery.
The Raptors held an end-of-season media conference with several players today. Scottie Barnes took the podium and sounded off about how he’s optimistic for the future, via TSN’s Josh Lewenberg:
“If you saw my face last year at this time I don’t think I was looking the right way. But I’m excited for what the (future) holds & what we’re going to grow in to…with the team we have there’s no excuses. We should definitely be in the playoffs.”
On the season Barnes averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks. Although his shooting numbers dipped this season, shooting a career-worst 44.6 percent from the field and 27.1 percent from three. However, Barnes really emerged on the defensive end. Constantly showcasing his all-defense like skills. Barnes believes he should be in that all-defensive team conversation, via Lewenberg:
“I feel like I’m an all-defensive team type of player… Once we start winning, my name is going to be in a lot more conversations. All that stuff is going to come.”
Barnes did play in 65 games this season meeting the requirement to be eligible for end-of-season awards. However, in all likelihood Barnes won’t make All-NBA which would have triggered his supermax extension. He did make a strong case for the All-Defensive teams, but the Raptors’ poor record will likely hurt his chances.
Overall, the future does look promising for the Raptors. They saw a lot of development from their rookies, they’ll have a lottery pick in this year’s upcoming draft and they will have Brandon Ingram entering the mix next season.
With the way things are looking in the East, the Raptors should at the very least be competing for a Play-In spot. But of course, it all starts and ends with Barnes. If the Raptors do take that big leap next season, Barnes will have to be at the forefront of that.
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