"Unselfish": Ex-Raptors coach Nick Nurse has high praise for Barnes
The Toronto Raptors rebuild might be in full swing now, but it unofficially kicked off more than three years ago at the 2021 NBA Draft.
In a franchise-defining moment, the Raptors selected Scottie Barnes at fourth overall, going off the board from draft consensus. A little over three years later, Barnes is one of just two players from the time he was selected that remain with the team, with Chris Boucher being the other.
One man who’s seen Barnes develop closer than most was the opposing coach on Friday, with Nick Nurse and the Philadelphia 76ers travelling to Scotiabank Arena.
“Obviously, an All-Star player,” Nurse said prior to the contest in Toronto. “He’s kind of in a role now that maybe we — [I mean] they — envisioned when they got him. He pushes the ball. He’s a push guard that wants to force the pace and get in the paint. He’s unselfish, and that creates a lot of offense, not only for himself, but for for others too. So, I mean, he’s really doing that at a high pace right now, and doing it high frequency.”
Nurse and Barnes spent two seasons together in Toronto, before the former was let go after the 2022-23 season. Barnes, meanwhile, signed the largest contract in Raptors history this past offseason, after making the first All-Star Game of his career last season.
“He’s still gonna play physical and back you down, and take those little turnarounds, little look away, jumpers and all that stuff. He still seems to get it in the basket,” Nurse added.
And with Barnes leading the way in Toronto’s 115-107 win over the 76ers — their first victory of the season — with 27 points, five rebounds, and four assists, it appears that Nurse’s pre-game praise was on point.
“I figured he’d have a good game… we didn’t quite have the size that he faced (against the Cavaliers in the opening game of the season),” Nurse said postgame. “He likes to shoot over the top of guys. He did a little bit of everything… he had a lot of racing-down -the-floor baskets, felt like he shot a lot of free throws. He got to the free throw line a lot. He only took 11 shots and scored 27 points… pretty good.”
The two teams will have to wait quite some time before their second of four contests this season, with Toronto visiting the 76ers on February 11.
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