Scottie Barnes Shares His Offseason Plans & His Love for Toronto During Exit Interviews

The Toronto Raptors saw Scottie Barnes clinch his dreams in Year 1 and now the question is what's next for the reigning Rookie of the Year

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Scottie Barnes came into Year 1 with the Toronto Raptors having set a list of goals for himself.

First and foremost, he wanted to make a name for himself in his rookie season. To him, that meant starting his legacy off right by clinching the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. Fast forward 10 months and Barnes is well on his way not just to becoming the face of this exceptional 2021 NBA Draft class, but he's already solidified himself as one of the brightest young stars in the league and a foundational piece for this Raptors organization.

What's Next?

Barnes checked off most of his rookie season goals. He clinched the Rookie of the Year award, topping Cleveland's Evan Mobley, and now he's onto new challenges.

What those are, however, haven't quite been figured out.

With the season now in the rearview mirror, Barnes said Friday during exit interviews he's going to spend some time this summer training and coming up with a list for his sophomore season goals.

Shooting Shooting Shooting

From Day 1 with the Raptors, the biggest developmental focus for Barnes has been his shooting, specifically his three-point stroke. It was virtually nonexistent during his lone year at Florida State and Toronto wanted to fix that.

This summer, that won't change, Barnes said.

“Stay in the gym, just making my shot feel more smooth, coming off my hand right," said Barnes, who shot 30.1% from three-point range on just over two attempts per game. "That’s really the main thing we worked on in that brief time, was my shot, just getting it better, fixing some things, tweaking some things.”

Toronto doesn't think the shot will be a problem for Barnes long-term. Raptors coach Nick Nurse said it's not a "broken" shot following last July's draft night and any improvement from Barnes in his sophomore season would go a long way to opening up the paint for his herky-jerky post moves.

Offseason Plans

Barnes said he'll probably spend some time back in South Florida when he leaves Toronto before heading over to California to do more offseason training this summer. He'll keep in touch with Toronto's coaching staff and follow their instructions while working with his personal trainers over the next few months.

Love for Toronto

“I feel like for me they take me in, they’ve been supportive throughout the whole season," Barnes said of Toronto. "It’s a beautiful city, nice. People are just so friendly, so welcoming. It’s amazing. It’s an amazing city to be in.”

Further Reading

Takeaways from Thad Young's exit interview as free agency approaches

Successful Raptors season comes to a close with loss to 76ers but future remains bright in Toronto

Raptors playing with 'nothing to lose' as pressure builds for 76ers