Scottie Barnes is slowly earning the defensive accolades he deserves, having been named the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October-November, while OKC Thunder guard Cason Wallace claimed the Western Conference counterpart.
Barnes becomes the first player in franchise history to take home the award after its introduction in the 2024-25 campaign. And talk about a fitting prize for the Raptors' 24-year-old lockdown ace to claim, as he's etched his name into a defensive echelon that not many in the league can parallel.
Scottie Barnes is undoubtedly one of the NBA's best defenders
Barnes stands amongst the NBA rest as the only player to have 30+ steals and 30+ blocks (31 steals and 36 blocks, to be exact) to his name in the 2025-26 season. Celtics defensive standout Derrick White is the next closest player in line, with 33 steals and 26 blocks, at the time of writing. Barnes also ranks in the top 10 league-wide for deflections per game (tied for ninth place with Kawhi Leonard at 3.9), and he is the fourth player in total deflections with 86.
From October 29 to November 19, Barnes solidified his place in Raptors history by setting a new franchise record with 11 straight games recording at least one steal and one block, breaking the previous record of nine consecutive games held by Vince Carter. That was quite the stretch for Barnes to keep up, and while it eventually ended on November 21, the former ROTY winner has delivered some key defensive highlights that served as the catalyst for several razor-close Raptors victories.
Just look at the Raptors' most recent outing against the Portland Trail Blazers on December 2, where they were able to snap a two-game losing skid in a 121-118 triumph. Scottie Barnes took charge as Toronto's consummate defensive specialist, meeting Blazers star Deni Avdija near the rim for a crucial block in the dying stages of the fourth quarter to essentially seal the deal for the Raptors. I look back too at Barnes' decisive block on Collin Sexton in a nail-biter against the Hornets on November 17, where Toronto toppled Charlotte by just a two-point margin.
To put it plainly, Barnes has been a huge driver to the Raptors' third-best defensive rating in the Eastern Conference at 112.4. Detroit sits in first at 111.5 and Miami is not too far behind at 111.7, at the time of writing.
The benefit of having a guy like Scottie Barnes — who could be on track to become the NBA's most versatile star (à la LeBron James) — is proving to be the difference between wins and losses for the Toronto Raptors. Barnes' defensive impacts continue to be his calling card, but don't forget about his superstar leap of sorts with the other improved facets of his game: the man they're calling Scotties B. right now (like the tissue company) is averaging the most points of his NBA career (20.3 points at the time of writing), and doing so with his most efficient brand of basketball to date — averaging 51.5% from the field and maintaining a strong 41.6% from three, even 22 games into the 2025-26 season.
If the Raptors can maintain their reignited relevancy in the Eastern Conference, thanks to Scottie Barnes' tremendous efforts, it's quite plausible that No. 4 keeps adding to his defensive honors —possibly contending for DPOY or at least earning a spot on one of the All-Defensive teams — and perhaps even securing All-Star status. And all things considered, a spot on one of the All-NBA teams could also be within reach.