Scottie Barnes Setting The Right Tone For Raptors

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is doing what he can to become the leader of the team.

Scottie Barnes speaks during interviews at media day at Intuit Dome. | William Liang-Imagn Images

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is establishing himself as the team's most important player, both on and off the court.

Barnes, a two-time All-Star, is establishing himself as the team's best player and leader, which is the next step for the Raptors to be a contending team in the East. Barnes believes he is doing what is necessary in order to grow in his career.

“I feel like I do a great job at setting the tone,” Barnes said via Sportsnet reporter Michael Grange.

“But I feel like these other guys, I feel like they deserve some credit too. We got a lot of guys that come over here and step up every single day, being able to receive constructive criticism while we’re out there on the floor, just on the fly. I think … we got a lot of guys that are just able to go out there on the floor and use their voice.”

Team USA Stars forward Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Scottie Barnes Has Raptors on Right Track

Not every player that plays well on the court has the leadership qualities necessary to be a strong player in the league. Luckily for the Raptors, Barnes is showcasing the growth that makes him someone that can lead the team to a title someday.

“I think the thing for me with Scott is probably just (him) setting the on-court tone on a consistent basis, right?” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said via Grange. “And I think you can sort of see that pretty clearly from the jump (this season). You know he's gonna play hard, you know, he's gonna play defence, and he's gonna sort of set that tone.

“And I think that for this group, they follow that. When he's locked in, and he has high energy and good activity and is running things on both ends of the court, this group follows him. And we’ve seen that more on a more consistent basis. You see that sort of night in and night out."

Barnes and the Raptors have a long way to go towards getting to where they want to go, but this has been the biggest jump he has taken so far in his career. He still has to go through some growing pains as a leader, but he is inching closer towards being the franchise player the Raptors hoped he would become after taking him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.