Can Scottie Barnes become the greatest rookie in Raptors history?
By Avishai Sol
How is Scottie Barnes better?
We could compare and contrast the stats and make the argument that he’s nearly the defender Camby was and nearly the scorer Vince was all rolled into one. Before you double-check the points per game averages, know this.
Scottie Barnes has by far the lowest usage rate of any of these guys.
Usage rate:
Camby: 24.3
Stoudamire: 23.5
This means that of all of these rookies, Barnes has the fewest sets run for him and is still having arguably the biggest impact on his games. This is made even rarer by his lack of a 3-point shot. He’s not one to just sit in the corner. He’s a creator, but he’s still getting his stuff without dominating the ball.
This is due to the situation Barnes is in.
In the 90s, when the Raptors franchise was still in its infancy, lottery rookies had nobody to answer to. Stoudamire was running the show, Camby was the second-highest-paid player on the team, and Carter was being crowned the prince of the NBA. They had no shoebox to fit into, no established stars to back up, and nothing tying their stats down.
By contrast, Barnes has multiple veterans, ball handlers, and established star-level players to share the sugar with. If he’s putting up these numbers playing behind Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby, just imagine what he’d be doing on the Pistons with Cade Cunningham’s 26.1 usage rate.
So Barnes is defending like Camby and scoring like Vince. He’s passing, rebounding, improving as a shooter, and connecting with fans, all while deferring to multiple veterans and contributing to a winning culture? Name another Raptors rookie who’s ever done that.
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