All rise for number four, Scottie Barnes.
Why, you may ask?
Well, it's only fitting to show respect to the 23-year-old Raptors forward who has just etched his name in the franchise history books and set the standard for his 2021 draft classmates with a recent career milestone.
As the Toronto Raptors' official social media pages (including X and Instagram) announced with a timely graphic, they celebrated Barnes reaching 2,000 career rebounds—the fastest to do so in Raptors history—along with notching 1,000 assists.
However, the more striking detail in this celebratory post was the mention of Barnes as "the only player from the 2021 draft with 4,500+ points and 2K boards."
Scottie Barnes sets Raptors milestone with new career stat
The 2021 NBA Draft has certainly been a standout talent pool in recent memory, bringing us a host of young stars, including Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner, Alperen Sengun, and of course, Scottie Barnes.
Much of the emphasis seems to be on which player stands out the most in this class, and I see a lot of Mobley vs. Barnes or Cunningham vs. Barnes comparisons in social media discussions. While I'm not a fan of comparing players, Barnes now has the added advantage of holding a statistic that no one else in his class can claim, even his best two arguable counterparts.
I think the narrative surrounding Barnes, especially lately, has been quite polarizing. He’s still the Raptors’ poster boy to some extent, but many—myself included—have started to use this season to evaluate his potential as the franchise's number-one option.
If you read my recent piece on Scottie Barnes, you know I concluded that he might be better off away from the expectations of being a superstar scorer. Instead, he would shine as an incredibly talented swiss-army knife player, ideal as a solid number two or three option.
Then we have wild stats like this popping up, which only make the argument more unclear; maybe Barnes can actually become something better than what he has shown in his relatively plateaued seasons in recent years.
Be that as it may, I still stand firm on what I said recently about Barnes. I believe this highlights just how diverse and dynamic his skillset is for a basketball team. He’s so well-balanced that his scoring might never reach superstar levels because he does a bit of everything.
Nevertheless, this recent career highlight offers a glimpse of a bright future and a sense of unshakeable hope for many Scottie Barnes fans, who believe his talents and a renewed Raptors cohesion can lead to winning ways—especially after their less-than-desirable performance in the 2024-25 season.