The Raptors fielded some great defensive teams over the years. In the 2019-20 season, they had the second-best defensive rating in the league. Before that, they ranked fifth for two consecutive seasons. Nevertheless, the Raptors never saw a player voted onto the All-Defensive First Team.
Even in 2019, Kawhi Leonard only made the second team. OG Anunoby also made the All-Defensive Second Team in the 2022-23 season. They are the only Raptors players to receive that honor, but the list should expand to three soon.
Scottie Barnes should make an All-Defensive Team at the end of the season and find his name in the DPOY conversation. If he makes the first team, which isn’t at all unrealistic, he will be the first Raptors player to achieve that feat.
Scottie Barnes is having an outstanding defensive season
On a recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, John Hollinger put Scottie Barnes on his All-Defensive First Team alongside Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Derrick White, and Ausar Thompson. The case for putting Barnes as one of the top-five defenders in the league this season is clear.
Barnes is the Raptors’ defensive anchor, and he can do everything the team could possibly need from him, while still maintaining a relatively high offensive output. With his size, athleticism, and mobility, Barnes can guard any position, including bigger centers and quick, crafty point guards.
The stats also work in Barnes’s favor. He is one of the few players who average at least 1 block and 1 steal with 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. No player averages more in both categories.
Barnes also gets it done defensively when games matter the most. He leads the league in total clutch blocks with nine.
Scottie Barnes’s Raptors tenure could be great
As a high draft pick, the expectation was always that Barnes would become a franchise player for the Raptors. While he may not be the number-one option on a contending team right now, he has evolved into a fantastic two-way player and someone who can impact winning basketball at only 24.
He will only get better from here on out and so will his team, hopefully. If Barnes stays in Toronto long-term and becomes a top-two player on a Raptors team contending for championships, he could quickly put his name next to the franchise’s previous greats.
Becoming only the third Raptors player to make an All-Defensive Team and maybe the first to make the All-Defensive First Team is a great first step in that direction.