The 2023-24 season is a pivotal one for the Toronto Raptors, but perhaps none more so than for young Scottie Barnes. He has impressed fans with his supreme athleticism and stalwart defense these past two years, but this is supposed to be the year the 22-year-old wing becomes an undeniable top guy for his franchise.

Through seven games, Barnes is not disappointing. His shining moment in the early stages of the campaign is Sunday's fourth-quarter explosion on the road versus the San Antonio Spurs. The Raptors trailed by double digits before he led them back with a flurry of 3-pointers and drives to the basket. Barnes connected from distance with just over 37 seconds left to tie the score at 108 a piece.

His teammate Dennis Schroder, who scored 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, shared some insight that makes the heroic moment even more chilling. “In the timeout, Coach drew up a play and [Scottie Barnes] was like ‘Yeah, but I can just stepback three it,'” he said, via ClutchPoints. “The next play he really did it.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Scottie Barnes got down to business on vacation in Cancun.

Nick Meyer ·

Former NBA player Jontay Porter and New Orleans Pelicans player Larry Nance Jr.

Preston Byers ·

Raptors Darko Rajakovic and Masai Ujiri next to the 2024 NBA Draft logo

Shervon Fakhimi ·

Toronto prevailed in overtime, 123-116, with Barnes posting 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. That is the type of offensive confidence fans and the organization have been clamoring for since he was selected as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Assessments cannot properly be made in less than 10 games into a season, but he might finally be turning a corner on his perimeter shooting woes.

Scottie Barnes' 3-point numbers are vastly and delightfully unrecognizable from that of his first two seasons. He is knocking down the long ball at a 42 percent clip (was 29 percent going into year) on a surprising 5.4 attempts per game. The Raptors (3-4) have plenty of issues to sort out, but this tantalizing talent is giving them one less thing thing to worry about in 2023.