Without a doubt, the Raptors' recent win over the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, stands as their most impressive victory so far. Sure, it was a narrow two-point win, and yes, the Thunder were missing Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso due to injury. But on the flip side for Toronto, considering their own injury troubles and streak of adversity — still minus Jakob Poeltl and Collin Murray-Boyles — they managed to come out on top against the NBA's ultimate powerhouse.
Immanuel Quickley continued his impressive streak in that game, but many eyes were on Scottie Barnes’ masterful defense, which arguably secured the win for Toronto down the stretch. Barnes finished with a modest 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting, but remained impactful with 11 rebounds and eight assists. His defensive brilliance was on full display as he continued to be the NBA's top season total stocks machine (steals + blocks) with three blocks and one steal.
The most noteworthy highlight of the game came with the Raptors up by two and just over 30 seconds to go. Chet Holmgren received the inbound pass, looking for his shot, but Barnes stuck to him like glue and delivered a massive block on the fellow defensive standout.
Now, coming out of this one, I think the Scottie Barnes Defensive Player of the Year chatter has only heated up. This is especially true with the trending storyline of Victor Wembanyama getting eerily close to falling out of the race due to the NBA's minimum games played rule. As a result, many have started to pivot toward other top contenders for the honor, with Chet Holmgren and Rudy Gobert firmly in the running.
But with all due respect to the other two, Barnes’ case could just be the most tangible contender of the bunch.
Scottie Barnes' game-changing defense should elevate him in DPOY talks
Few players can claim to be the best defender on a team that has surprisingly maintained a top-five defensive rating despite missing a paint protector and having a surplus of questionable defenders in contrast. But Scottie Barnes lays claim to that status. Though, I have to give credit to guys like Ja'Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead, and Collin Murray-Boyles, who have also contributed on that end of the floor.
However, it wouldn't be farfetched to say that Barnes is the key driver behind Toronto's defensive success. He's already been recognized this season with the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November, and that defensive intensity hasn't slowed down one bit since then.
And keep in mind, we're talking about Scottie Barnes, who has had to pivot into that five-man role at times due to Toronto’s center woes — taking on that responsibility while remaining the key defender on the opposing team's best player. Even with the added weight on his shoulders, you'll still see Barnes tapping into his ability to guard positions one through five — and it's a luxury that Toronto doesn't take lightly.
Prior before this superb showcase against Oklahoma City, we've seen Barnes do it multiple times this season: blocking Collin Sexton in a nail-biter against Charlotte during their hot November stretch, or shutting down Paolo Banchero in another razor-close game in late December.
Mind you, on the topic of Barnes stepping up when it matters most, he leads the league in clutch time blocks with a total of eight. Elsewhere, he's in the top three for defensive win shares at 2.7, behind OKC's Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — a metric which estimates how many wins a player contributes on the defensive end.
Can I guarantee that Scottie Barnes will ultimately win the DPOY at season’s end? Not at all. I reckon Toronto’s perceived status as a non-major market, along with others like Chet Holmgren, Rudy Gobert, and Wemby still in the running (at least for now), means it won’t be an easy battle. But if Scottie B. can keep this up as the competition for the award narrows and the race gets even tighter — especially if the Raptors continue to surpass expectations driven by his efforts — the case for DPOY Scottie could be impossible to ignore.