During NBA All-standout weekend, Raptors standout Scottie Barnes sings O Canada and rediscovers happiness.
It is hoped that Barnes’ exposure to the best players in the NBA will ignite a drive in him to strive to match their caliber and become a regular pick for the All-Star team. Barnes told reporters in Indianapolis, “I feel like I always have that inspiration, that motivation to try to come back as an All-Star.” It’s one of my objectives, and I’ll stick to it battling for it annually.
Though he’s averaging career bests all around in 2023–24, maybe it also helps him get back to enjoying himself a little more. The unbridled delight he displayed on his way to earning rookie of the year hasn’t been as evident in the next two seasons.
On Sunday, Barnes seemed to be having a great time. He was seen belting out “O Canada” before his East squad easily defeated the West 211-186. When Barnes first joined the Raptors, he informed us that it took him ten or fifteen games to memorize the lyrics to the Canadian national song.
In 18 minutes, Barnes scored 16 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, doing a great job of representing his team and his country. Following the game, the fun continued when Damian Lillard, the MVP of the match, was posing for photos with his trophy and Barnes made a faux threat to dump Gatorade on him.
When Barnes heard his name called as a first-time All-Star, questions were raised about the enormous smile that appeared on his face. “I’m goofy, but I’m always happy,” Barnes said to Kayla Gray of TSN. Barnes remarked, “Even if I try to hide it, it just comes out when they call my name.”
Tyrese Maxey, his friend and teammate in the skills challenge, laughed off a few instances where things didn’t go Barnes’ or his way.
“We gave it everything we had. Scottie and I did experience a few problems. The ball dribbled off his foot. Maxey told reporters, “I don’t know what was going on with that, but that’s OK.” They were able to win the shooting portion of the competition with Trae Young, and they may have won the passing portion (they were tied with Team Indiana in the end, although Barnes played a tremendous leg and was praised on the TV).
All in all, Barnes had a memorable weekend that could serve as a launchpad for more.
“It was enjoyable. “I played hard on defense, pushed the pace, and rebounded,” Barnes said to Sportsnet Central following the All-Star Game.
GOOD COMPANY
Barnes, who is 22 years and 201 days old, is among the rising stars who are playing in their first All-Star Game. In the same ballpark were Anthony Edwards (22 years, 197 days), Paul George (22, 291), Ja Morant (22, 194), Brandon Ingram (22, 167), Kevin Durant (22, 144), Bam Adebayo (22, 213), Anthony Davis (22, 340), and Anthony Edwards (22, 213). At 19 years and 169 days old, the late Kobe Bryant set a record by making it to the NBA All-Star Game from high school. At 20 years and 52 days, LeBron James is in second place. Only two elder players have made it to their 20th game. Among Raptors, only Chris Bosh arrived earlier than Barnes.
IN AND AROUND THE RIM
For the third straight year, a player scored fifty points (Jayson Tatum established the record with fifty-five points in the 2023 All-Star Game). Anthony Davis was the only person to have completed 50 or more before this run in 2017. Despite playing just 28 minutes on Sunday, fellow former Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns reached 50 in the fewest amount of time. Vince Carter, surprisingly, never scored more than the 16 points that Barnes did. Carter also peaked at sixteen. The Raptors record for points scored is 23 by Chris Bosh; DeMar DeRozan scored 21 in 2018, Kawhi Leonard scored 19 in 2019, Kyle Lowry scored 19 in 2017, and Pascal Siakam’s best score was 15. Rising stars game MVP was to Indiana Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin of Montreal, while Hamilton’s All-Star starter Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second on the West with 31 points, behind Towns.