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Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes clapped back at his haters on social media, vowing to make a significant leap in leading his team to the postseason in 2025-26. Barnes has his eyes set on playoff basketball. The Raptors haven't reached the playoffs since 2022 when the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated them from the opening round. After speaking out about the notion of the Raptors tanking next season, he posted on social media.
Barnes took a shot at the critical fans on social media, who often criticize, wondering if the spectators actually know the sport or if they're just trolling particular NBA players for attention. Barnes called a particular audience out on his X, formerly Twitter.
“it’s a lot of people on this app that don’t watch ball man,” Barnes said with a shaking head emoji, “just be chattin. it’s coo we got a lot to prove this yr. let’s get back to the playoffs.”
Could 2025-26 be the season we see Barnes lead the Raptors to their first playoff appearance in three years?
Scottie Barnes weighs in on Raptors' taking approach
While Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is enjoying his summer, he's got bigger plans in mind for those thinking that his team should tank for the future. Even in April toward the end of a 112-103 loss to the Trail Blazers, he explained after playing through a MCP joint contusion, per Sportsnet's Michael Grange.
“Why would I not go out there?” Barnes said. “Nothing's stopping me. You know, I want to play every single game. I love playing basketball. I missed some games last year, I missed some games this year. You know, it's just a blessing to be on that court. You know, every time I step on the floor, just trying to help the team win.”
Even with the Raptors out of playoff contention, Barnes' focused remained on winning.
“Every game is useful. Keep learning and keep getting better. Keep playing with different teammates, different rotations,” Barnes said. “Right now, this is going to help for the future. You just got to keep learning how to play with each other, how to grow, talk, communicate. When there’s struggles, it’s great for that, when there's some struggles going on, when there's bad things happening, how are we going to communicate? How are we going to stay together as a team? How are we going to try to figure this, this thing out?”
Barnes and the Raptors hope to figure plenty out next season.
