Scottie Barnes is having himself a great third season with the Toronto Raptors.
He has seen his number increase and he has been the best Raptors player this season.
Barnes is coming off a crazy statline where he put up 22 points, 17 rebounds (ties his career-high), 7 assists and 3 blocks.
He became the first player in Raptors franchise history with 15+ points, 15+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 3+ blocks in a game.
For the season Barnes is averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists 1.6 steals and 1.3 steals.
Barnes’ numbers have been even better during his last 5 games:
Scottie Barnes is averaging 24.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.4 blocks & a steal in his last 5 games.
He’s doing it on 70.9 TS% & shooting 44% from three.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) December 19, 2023
As the 2024 NBA All-Star Voting period officially opens up, Barnes is looking to become an All-Star for the first time in his career.
The Eastern Conference has a lot of talented players. Therefore, Barnes will have to beat out some good players if he wants to get a spot.
ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton recently listed Barnes as one of his Eastern Conference starters.
However, to earn a starting spot Barnes will need a ton of support from Raptors fans across Canada because he will be competing against Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum who will likely occupy the three frontcourt spots.
Barnes will have a good shot to earn a spot as a reserve though, which is voted on by NBA head coaches. He’ll be competing for one of the seven bench spots against the likes of Damian Lillard, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle, Jaylen Brown, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Mikal Bridges and fellow teammate Pascal Siakam.
Two of those players will earn starting spots in the backcourt.
Will Barnes be named a 2024 NBA All-Star?
What could end up hurting Barnes’ case is the Raptors poor record. However, looking at his numbers there’s no denying that Barnes is deserving of a spot.
If Barnes doesn’t get voted in as a starer, then Raptors fans are going to have to bank on NBA head coaches voting him in.
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