Raptors' Scottie Barnes Shares What All-Star Honors Means to Him

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes said he's blessed to earn an All-Star bid this year and is excited to head to Indiana for the game Sunday night

Scottie Barnes wouldn’t allow himself to look ahead.

There’d been some initial excitement when he got a call from the NBA office informing him that he’d been selected as an injury replacement for the All-Star Game. He celebrated alongside his Toronto Raptors teammates as he and the Raptors prepared to take on the Charlotte Hornets earlier this month, but after a brief announcement, it was back to the task at hand.

“Focusing on the season right now but we’ve got some time off so, I’ll probably think about it tonight,” Barnes said following Toronto’s last game ahead of the All-Star Break. “It’s still surreal to me, still crazy. It’s crazy playing in the All-Star Game. It's a dream.

“Nothing I’ve really thought about but it's a dream, I guess. But I'm just so happy. I'm blessed.”

It’ll be Barnes’ third trip to All-Star Weekend, having been named to the Rising Stars’ Game in each of his first two seasons. He infamously took part in the Clutch Competition alongside Tyrese Maxey in 2022, missing four straight floaters in an embarrassing performance for the then-rookie forward.

“Being able to play an all-star game, I know it's going to be exciting,” Barnes said. “It’s going to be a fun weekend. Just enjoy it, soak it in, and be with family for my first All-Star game. So it's going to be a good get together, have some friends out there.”

Barnes will represent the East on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum will start in the East alongside one more frontcourt player of head coach Doc Rivers’ choosing. The bench will consist of Bam Adebayo, Paolo Banchero, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, and Barnes.

In the West, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Kevin Durant will lead the way. Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Karl-Anthony Towns will play off the bench.

Barnes will also take part in the skills competition alongside Young and Maxey at 8 p.m. ET Saturday night.