Scottie Barnes has placed himself in rare company.
The Toronto Raptors forward was named the NBA’s No. 7 winger ahead of next season by analysts at HoopsHypeThe rankings also rank Barnes as the league’s second-best small forward under 30, behind Jayson Tatum who tops the list of the league’s best players at the position.
“A true Swiss Army knife on the court, Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes can do a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor – and at a high level, too,” wrote Frank Urbina of HoopsHype.
Barnes is ranked immediately after Jimmy Butler and ahead of former Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram and Franz Wagner, respectively.
It’s a remarkable ranking for Barnes, who appears to be a few years away from a significant rise in the rankings. The players ranked ahead of him — Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Butler, respectively — are in their 30s or late 40s. A step up from Barnes next season, combined with the decline of the veterans ahead of him, could allow Toronto’s 23-year-old All-Star to make a significant jump up the rankings next year.
“Barnes will have to continue to work on his shot if he wants to reach the next level of a player — the All-NBA level — but even on that front, things look promising for the Raptors,” Urbina continued. “Barnes went from 28.1 percent from three-point range as a second-year player to 34.1 percent last season. Another jump like that for Barnes could really change things for him.”
The 6-foot-7 Toronto franchise mainstay averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in 60 games last year before a broken hand ended Barnes’ season.
Former Raptors forward OG Anunoby came in at No. 12 on the list as a valuable two-way forward for the New York Knicks.
