Scottie Barnes Named Among NBA's All-Rookie First Teamers

Toronto Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes has been named to the NBA's first-team All-Rookie for his stellar 2021-22 campaign

It's official. To nobody's surprise, the NBA's 2021-22 Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes, has earned first-team All-Rookie honors this season.

The Toronto Raptors forward became just the ninth player in franchise history to earn first-team honors, joining Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, Morris Peterson, Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva, Andrea Bargnani, and Jorge Garbajosa. Only 12 Raptors players have ever earned All-Rookie honors with Terence Davis being the most recent recipient of second-team All-Rookie honors in 2019-20.

Barnes, the surprising fourth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game this season while shooting 49.2% from the floor. He set a career-high with 31 points on March 18 against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers and finished just two assists shy of a triple-double in his first career playoff game, scoring 15 points and nabbing 10 rebounds in Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 20-year-old is joined on the first team by Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Cleveland's Evan Mobley, Orlando's Franz Wagner, and Houston's Jalen Green.

The NBA will announce the recipients of All-Defensive honors Friday, followed by the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award winner Sunday, and All-NBA honors on Tuesday, May 22. Fred VanVleet has been named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award and could earn All-Defensive honors while Pascal Siakam is in the running for third-team All-NBA honors.

Further Reading

Can Toronto's unusual roster succeed in the playoffs? Take a look at the NBA's conference finalists

Pascal Siakam finally became 'The Guy' for the Raptors, but with Scottie Barnes coming, how long will it last?

Toronto's free agent track record raises concerns, but there are players available who fit the Raptors' biggest needs