Toronto forward Scottie Barnes was voted NBA Rookie of the Year on Saturday, edging Cleveland’s Evan Mobley in a close vote.
The former University School standout is the third player to win the annual award with the Raptors, joining Damon Stoudamire (1995-96) and Vince Carter (1998-99).
Barnes began his high school career at Cardinal Newman, but after one season he transferred to University School. There, he made the Sun Sentinel’s All-County first team and was a Fab Five pick two years in a row. For his senior year, he transferred to to national basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy near Orlando.
He was the No. 4 draft pick after one season at Florida State.
For the NBA award, Barnes got 48 first-place votes and 378 points from a panel of 100 sports writers and broadcasters. Mobley received 43 first-place votes and finished with 363 points. The difference of 15 points was the smallest margin in the rookie category under the current voting format that began with the 2002-03 season.
The award was announced shortly before the Raptors hosted Philadelphia in Game 4 of their first-round series, trailing 3-0. Barnes returned after missing the previous two games with a sprained left ankle.
Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 35.4 minutes per game. He led all rookies in minutes and was third in points and rebounds.
He is the sixth rookie to average at least 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.00 steals and 0.70 blocks in a season since steals and blocks became official statistics in the 1973-74 season, joining Alvan Adams (1975-76), Lionel Simmons (1990-91), Chris Webber (1993-94), Lamar Odom (1999-00) and Ben Simmons (2017-18).
A starter in every game he played, Barnes became the first rookie in Raptors history to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists in a season. He set the franchise rookie record for offensive rebounds with 195, which was a team high and ranked 15th among all NBA players.
Barnes, 20, was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month twice (February and March/April). He was also selected to participate in the Rising Stars during All-Star weekend. Barnes helped the Raptors improve to 48-34 this season after finishing 27-45 last season, with Toronto earning the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
On March 18, Barnes posted career highs of 31 points and 17 rebounds to go with six assists against the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first rookie to have at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a game since Blake Griffin in March 2011. Barnes finished with 28 points, 16 rebounds and five steals against the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 28, becoming the first rookie to reach 25 points, 15 rebounds and five steals in a game since Shaquille O’Neal in March 1993.
Toronto selected Barnes with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Barnes played one season at Florida State, where he was named the 2020-21 ACC Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the draft, finished third. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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