Scottie Barnes’ All-Star Weekend Is A Massive Success For Raptors

Ain’t It fun?

Scottie Barnes sat in a room of over, what felt like, 1000 media members, searching and intensely pondering the answer to a question about his favorite ‘go-to’ song before a game and it finally hit him – Ain’t It Fun by Paramore.

First of all, excellent choice Scottie.

Second – it’s a fitting song for this moment in his career. The 3rd year forward just finished competing in his very first All-Star game, living in the real world, being all alone as the sole participant from the Toronto Raptors at the 2024 All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. (If you’re not a Paramore fan, this reference will fly over your head)

Even if it took a couple of injuries in the East to get Barnes into the game – there’s no question that he was deserving. Statistically, he’s putting up career numbers across the board and has taken sizable leaps as a defender and shooter, all while being immersed into a new role as the guy on a rebuilding Raptors team that has been gutted over the last 6 months — making Barnes, the second longest-tenured player on the roster.

Safe to say, It’s been a whirlwind year for Barnes.

But this weekend was a good chance to unplug. To disconnect from that aspect of basketball and get back to having fun.

“I’m just excited, I’m trying to have fun,” Barnes told the media on Saturday. “Just embracing and living in the moment.”

That excitement was palpable. There tends to be a lot of smiling and laughter among the players during the weekend – but Barnes was particularly cheery throughout the festivities.

You saw that during the Skills Competition where Barnes and his teammates Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young were laughing up a storm throughout. It was a chance at redemption for both Barnes and Maxey who were meme’d to oblivion after their debacle in last year’s version of the competition. And while they got off to a clumsy start (and were still meme’d for it) they put up a much better fight this time around – losing just narrowly in a sudden death round to the Pacers squad led by Tyrese Haliburton.

Still, though – it seemed like it hadn’t clicked for Barnes how big this moment and this weekend was for the organization.

From Rookie of the Year to Rising Star and now All-Star. Quite the start to a career.

“As a kid, I don’t think I even watched it. We didn’t have cable,” Barnes told the media when he was asked about his favorite All-Star game memories. “I saw what it was like the last two years, just the environment.’’

Barnes had participated in the last two all-star weekends in the Rising Stars competition and Skills challenge — but this time around, he was at the main event. “You just hope you can get there (to the game), you dream about it, and now I’m finally here and super excited.”

It’s important to note how special Scottie’s excitement was throughout the process because, truthfully, It’s hard for a player to stay excited during this weekend.

Don’t get me wrong – there was a verve to everything happening in Indiana. The city was pulsating with NBA fans who were funnelling through different events. There wasn’t enough time in the day to get to everything. For three days it is the place to be in the NBA.

But it’s also exhausting. It’s called an ‘All-Star break’ but the weekend is anything but for the players, who are constantly probed with questions, some bizarre, others personal or just flat-out confusing. On top of that, they’re being pulled in a million different directions: meet-and-greets, sponsorship and promotional events, parties, parties after the parties – it’s a lot.

And after all that, at the end of the exhausting 48-hour weekend, for a select 24 players – there’s a game to be played.

It’s partially why you don’t see any sort of intensity in Sunday’s game. The players are usually just trying to get it over with.

And yet, Scottie – like a fish out of water – couldn’t contain his excitement when his name was called on Sunday night, a smile burst through the jumbotron.

You could just tell that was the moment he realized: he had reached an inflection point in his career.

“To be on the court with those guys was amazing, man,” Barnes told the media after he dropped 16 points and 8 rebounds in his All-Star debut. The numbers are irrelevant in a game where the winning team scored 211 points, but the moment isn’t. He fit in. He looked the part – and that is important. “Being here with Hall of Famers, guys that are going to be taking over the league. Just being in this position, with the talent level in the NBA, it was just amazing to be here. It's a blessing.”

In all likelihood, this is only the start for Scottie – but you’ll always remember your first.

Another big accomplishment: check.

“'I’m just blessed to play the game of basketball because I love it,” Barnes said when I asked him about the growing list of accomplishments.”I don't really overthink too much. I play to win. that's my goal every time I step on the floor and see everything else just comes with it.”

Now that is a level of self-awareness that’s important for a 22-year-old.

And it wasn’t the only time Scottie brought the conversation back to winning at the team-level when he was asked about his own individual accomplishments.

“I was just thinking about the first 2 years, starting strong with the rookie of the year, last year I made the Rising Stars game but you know I think my path is more than that,” Barnes told the media this weekend. “It’s winning basketball games with our team and team success. The ultimate goal is to win a championship and win it with the Raptors.”

And when he was asked about what his goal is this season in Toronto?

“Just got to keep going. Keep playing hard. Stay together. Win more. Feel like that’s the only expectation we have, it’s just to try and win.”

As Barnes was saying this, In the background of his post All-Star presser, both General Manager Bobby Webster and President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri looked on at their new franchise cornerstone – smiling at the level of focus he had on getting back to winning.

There’s no question that this has been a tumultuous year for the Raptors – one that has been marked by an immense amount of change. Change that, in part, was motivated by their belief in Barnes. But in the midst of all of that pressure of becoming the ‘face of the franchise’, their beacon of hope, the shimmering light at the end of the tunnel for the organization has never wavered… The smile Barnes held all weekend somehow signified that idea.

Despite the whirlwind of a weekend, despite all the commotion, despite being pulled in a million and one directions – he’s going to keep on smiley.

“I was sad for those guys at first,” said Barnes when he was asked about all the change this season. “These are guys I came into the league with. But as time goes on you just have to get over it, move on to the next. The team that we have right now has all the talent… we got to take the responsibility now. It’s a great honor. For them to believe in me go through this process. You know, I'm always gonna be about winning. That's my main goal. And I feel like that's why they really trust me. I got the skill set and the tools to be able to push push us to the top.”

Confidence in his talent? Check.

Confidence in the plan? Also check.

The Raptors are pretty far away from the winning that Barnes is talking about. Sitting at 19-36 at the All-Star break, this season (and maybe a couple after that) is going to be all about developing this current core, led by Barnes, to an eventual winner.

But this weekend should provide confidence to fans and to the organization that through all the noise and commotion, Barnes is going to maintain his energy, his talent and – maybe most importantly – his smile. That’s the type of guy to feel confident in building around.

Ain’t it fun?