Raptors' Scottie Barnes shoots up oddsmakers' rankings for NBA's Most Improved Player
Seven games into the year, the Toronto Raptors might not be off to the best start from an overall standpoint sitting at 3-4.
But for anyone watching, it’s been impossible to ignore the emergence of Scottie Barnes into a true NBA star, putting up the best marks of his career in his third year.
On Sunday, Barnes had perhaps his signature performance of an already impressive campaign, leading a 22-point comeback for a 123-116 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs. Barnes scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and led the Raptors with 42 minutes played on the afternoon.
“He’s not shying away from those moments. He’s creating those moments. I’m blessed to have a player like Scottie to put him in those situations,” Toronto head coach Darko Rajaković told the media after Sunday’s win.
Barnes has averaged 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in seven games this season, up from 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 77 games in 2022-23.
While it’s still early, betting odds have taken notice of Barnes’ hot start to the season. As per DraftKings, Barnes at +600 has jumped up all the way to second place in the NBA’s Most Improved Player odds for this season, trailing just Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey at +180.
With Barnes starting the season at 10th on DraftKings’ odds at +1600, it’s quite an impressive rise less than two weeks into the year.
But Barnes seems to be taking his strong season in stride.
“We needed a spark,” Barnes said. “Just staying confident and knowing that we needed something to go.”
Interestingly, Maxey and Barnes have a long connection dating back to their youth days playing for various levels of USA Basketball, and they also competed alongside each other at the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend in the Skills Challenge.
“He’s gonna be good for a long time. As a friend, I’m proud of him and I can’t wait to see how he grows,” Maxey told Daily Hive in October 2022. “Scottie’s great. He’s a 6’9 point forward that can rebound, pass, score… he can do a lot of different things.”
Barnes and the Raptors return to action on Wednesday when they visit the Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm PT/8:30 pm ET.
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