Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
4 Takeaways from Scottie Barnes' Media Day: From Year 2 Expectations to More Point Scottie
Year 1 with Scottie Barnes defied everyone's expectations. The No. 4 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft came in and silenced his critics almost immediately. His offensive was refined, his passing was exceptional, and his defense — well — it was pretty good for a rookie.
With Year 2 on the horizon, the expectations have ramped up. Here's what Barnes had to say on Monday's media day.
1. Sophomore Expectations
Barnes came into last season with his eyes on the Rookie of the Year award. This year, he's looking to make another jump with All-Star game aspirations.
"Just keep striving for success, trying to keep winning, keep trying to fight, keep trying to win this championship," he said. "I'd say some individual goals is just really just trying to take it to the next level with trying to make defensive teams, all-stars, and so on."
2. Summer Training
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Barnes looked noticeably bigger at media day. His trainer Brian Macon said he'd put on 10 pounds of muscle over the summer and it certainly appears that way. As for his basketball skills, Barnes said he was in the gym fine-tuning those throughout the offseason.
"I can just try to get better, different pull-up techniques, and different things like that, different footwork, continue to just keep trying to work and grow my body," he said.
3. More Point Scottie
Toronto's success with Barnes as the point guard last season has opened the door to Barnes having an even bigger role as the offensive initiator this year, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. Barnes views himself as a Magic Johnson-type player and the Raptors will deploy him as such throughout the year.
"I’ve always been a point guard, I always had those point guard things, but I feel like I can do it all, no matter what it is," Barnes said. "I can play any position, so I don't really try to limit myself to one position. But (I've) always been seeing myself as a point guard."
Barnes said he's been studying the way Fred VanVleet orchestrates the offense and uses his voice to communicate on the court. That's something he'd like to work on this year, trying to push his teammates the way VanVleet pushed him last season.
4. Playoff Experience
Barnes' playoffs were cut a little short by an ankle injury last year, but the 21-year-old said it was a great learning experience going up against the Philadelphia 76ers.
"I feel like I used that as a huge motivation. I think we saw what we can do as a team as well throughout that series, and we know we can go further than that, push ourselves more," he said. "I see the level of competition, and it takes it to a whole different level. The occasion does obviously rise to a different level, and we can see that difference."
Further Reading
O.G. Anunoby discusses rumors of his unhappiness with the Raptors
5 Takeaways from Nick Nurse's Media Day: From easing Fred VanVleet's minutes to Point Scottie Barnes
5 Takeaways from Masai Ujiri's Media Day: From trade speculation to Scottie Barnes hype
