Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes has enjoyed a steady rise to become an All-Star, and that work has paid off with HoopsHype named him the number 7 forward. in the NBA in their preseason positional rankings.
The rankings touched on Barnes’ versatility as a player, saying 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 just 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 to 7th place because of his shooting. While he did shoot a career-best 3-point range last season, he was still shooting just 34.1%, below league average. But the fact that Barnes is in 7th place is especially impressive considering who is above him.
Barnes is the first player under 25 to make the list. And outside of No. 1 overall pick Jayson Tatum, the rest of the top six are over 30. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Jimmy Butler, in that order, round out the top six.
Behind Barnes, we find in order DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram and Franz Wagner. With the players above him aging and likely to fall off the roster in the coming years, Barnes has a real opportunity to establish himself as one of the league’s best forwards with another quality season in 2024-25.
The Raptors don’t appear to be playoff contenders this season, but Barnes’ development is more important than winning at this point. And at 23, the sky’s still the limit for the versatile young All-Star.
Raptors have four nationally televised games
The Raptors are in the midst of a rebuild, so Toronto isn’t expected to win many games or be a playoff team.
This is reflected in the lack of nationally televised games the Raptors have this season. Raptors have only four games on national televisionwhich includes games broadcast on ESPN, TNT, ABC and NBA TV. It is tied for last place in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit Pistons.
This isn’t really a surprise. For the second straight season, Toronto has only one game scheduled on ESPN. That’s the fewest games scheduled since the 2013-14 season, the start of the Masai Ujiri era in Toronto. The Raptors’ only game on ESPN will be Jan. 8 on the road against OG Anunoby and the New York Knicks.
