Raptors Future: Is Scottie Barnes more Aaron Gordon or Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Is Scottie Barnes the next Giannis Antetokounmpo?

There is another option for an athletic power forward with mind-boggling combinations of defensive events, scoring and playmaking. If Gordon's ultimate destiny was as a role player alongside a star, Giannis Antetokounmpo's destiny was as the best player in the NBA.

As a raw teenager straight out of the lower levels of professional Greek basketball, it took Giannis a few years to develop into a special player. But his fourth year, however, he finished first in Most Improved Player and seventh in MVP voting. Two years later he won back-to-back MVPs.

There are some real similarities between Antetokounmpo and Barnes. Each was a problem on defense at their athletic peaks, swatting shots and plucking steals to get downhill in transition. The more they had the ball in their hands, the more they grew creating offense for themselves and setting up others.

Barnes is a better shooter already than Giannis, and Antetokounmpo's undeniability at the rim was something historically special that Barnes will likely never attain. Yet their two-way impact is similar, and it's therefore not out of the question that Barnes continues to develop and follows a similar path to Antetokounmpo.