Foreword
There is such a player in the NBA this season, he has an annual salary of $8 million, but the data has reached the level second only to the two-time MVP Antetokounmpo and the one-time MVP Embiid, and his team once refused to put him in the trade in the negotiations to get Durant, listing him as "not for sale", this player is Scottie Barnes, and let's go into his story together.
Florida five-star high school students can't even sit in the starting position when they go to college
Scottie Barnes grew up in Florida, USA, and from a very young age, he carried basketball everywhere, and when he began to play on the field court, sometimes he would compete with a group of people who were twenty or thirty years older than him, and learn from them mature ways to deal with various situations in the game, and whichever side loses the game will have to be replaced by the next group, such wild ball rules have made Scottie Barnes's competitive spirit slowly cultivated.
Accustomed to playing against adults and then playing with players his age, Scottie Barnes became more coping, in his sophomore season, he helped the varsity team achieve a luxurious record of 36 wins and 2 losses, and won the first 5A state championship in school history, won consecutive championships in his junior season, and transferred to Montverde Academy in his senior season, which is the high school where Embiid once stayed, and in the Gauss season, Scottie Barnes averaged 116 points 65 rebounds 46 assists, helping the team to a record of 25 wins.
Scottie Barnes was also drafted to compete in international competitions, representing the U.S. men's basketball team in the 2017 U16 Men's Basketball World Cup, where he scored a game-high 20 points and scored six steals in the semifinals against Argentina, and eventually won the gold medal for the team in the 2018 U17 Men's Basketball World Cup.
When it came time to decide which college to go to, Scottie Barnes was rated as a five-star high school student by several authorities, including ESPN, and he showed his potential to be an all-round star.
But when Scottie Barnes chose to go to Florida State University, he probably didn't expect that he would not even be able to sit in the starting position, in his freshman season, Scottie Barnes played a total of 24 games, only 7 starts, such a situation will not be too easy for many players who have been stars since childhood, and even failed to continue their previous highlights, will Scottie Barnes be different?The answer is yes.
Scottie Barn has embraced the change of role and is happy to step up from the bench to help the team, always full of energy, averaging 103 points, 4 rebounds, 41 assist, 1With 5 sign-in reports, he helped the team reach the NCAA and made it all the way to the semifinals, where Scottie Barnes was named the ACC League Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and was named to the ACC League All-NBA Team, and entered the NBA Draft at the end of the season.
He is reminiscent of another "Scotty".
In 2021, Scottie Barnes unexpectedly heard his name with the fourth pick in the first round of the NBA draft, and it was rumored that the Raptors, who held the No. 4 pick in the first round, would most likely choose Suggs, but it seems that they prefer Scottie Barnes and favor the young man who is considered a "strong version" of Batum.
In his rookie season, Scottie Barnes surprised the Raptors too much, and Scottie Barnes could have a considerable impact on the game on both offensive and defensive ends.
Excellent size and confrontation ability have allowed Scottie Barnes to basically adapt to the rhythm of the NBA when he first entered the league, can finish strongly under the basket against the defense, has good court vision and shooting ability, and his creativity is eye-catching, reminiscent of another "Scottie", and everyone may be more familiar with his surname - Pippen.
Coincidentally, Batum, one of Scottie Barnes' draft templates, also has a nickname called "French Pippen."
Scottie Barnes' regular season average in his rookie season ended up at 153 points 75 rebounds and 35 assists 11 steal, standing out among the 2021 NBA rookies and becoming the winner of the Best Rookie Award for the NBA draft year with quality players such as Cunningham, Mobley, Jalen Green, Suggs, Franz Wagner, etc., who are considered the "big year of the draft".
In the second season of his career, Scottie Barnes seems to have stagnated his growth, his average points per game have not risen, his shooting percentage and three-point shooting rate have declined, and his average turnovers per game have declined
The second-year rookie makes the Raptors feel more "fragrant" than Durant, and the "King of the North" has a prototype
The outside world questioned Scottie Barnes loudly, but the Raptors made a surprising decision. In the 2022-23 season, the Nets were busy trading Durant, and "where does Durant go" was a hot topic almost throughout the offseason to the regular season, and many American people, including WOJ, exposed the news that the Raptors were interested in Durant, NBA reporter Michael Scotto reported that if the Raptors were willing to send Scottie Barnes, the Nets would seriously consider making a deal with the Raptors for Durant.
In a follow-up report, Michael Scotto said that the Raptors insisted on keeping Scottie Barnes on the lineup. It's equivalent to treating Scottie Barnes as a "not for sale", even if he can trade for Durant and not put him in the trade. It's clear how much the Raptors value Scottie Barnes, but is he worth it for the Raptors?
Let's take a look at Scottie Barnes's performance in the third season of his career, he has almost become an "all-around warrior" player, almost everywhere in the game, he makes full use of his long arms and strength, and becomes a "defensive iron gate", and on the offensive end, Scottie Barnes's shooting touch can be said to be getting better than the previous season, better adapting to the rhythm and intensity of the NBA game, and organizing tandems can also do well.
As a result, fans can see in the game that Scottie Barnes can tear apart the opponent's defense by breaking through with the ball, can equalize the score at a critical moment with a three-point retreat, can accurately find teammates in the open position, rebound and grab reliable, single defense, and help defense, has a good ability to predict the opponent's passing route, and can also take care of the task of protecting the frame.
In the first 27 regular-season games of the 2023-24 season, Scottie Barnes averaged 206 points 92 rebounds 57 assists 15 steals 13 caps, what level of data is this?In addition to Scottie Barnes, there are only two people in the NBA who can average at least 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game during the same period, and he is comparable to the two major MVPs, that is, Brother Alphabet and Embiid, who together won a total of 3 MVPs, and each of them has been selected to the All-NBA and All-Defensive Team many times.
Scottie Barnes's rapid growth can be said to let fans see that the new "King of the North" after DeRozan and Leonard such as the Raptors has taken shape, and he may be the forward hope of the American men's basketball team.
A good drama that has been watched n times