Scottie Barnes Misses Top 10 For 2027 NBA DPOY Odds

As the 2026-27 NBA season nears closer, the 30 franchises have just about wrapped up finalizing their rosters. General manager Bobby Webster and the Toronto Raptors still await the highly anticipated decision from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver regarding the Kawhi Leonard investigation. All signs point towards the seven-time All-Star returning to the franchise with which he captured his second  championship and Finals MVP and being ready for training camp in Quebec City next month.

Canada’s lone NBA franchise has been somewhat disrespected over the last several months. While the official regular season schedule is set to be released today, it was announced earlier this week that the Raptors weren’t awarded a contest during Opening Week or on Christmas Day. Furthermore, only one of Toronto’s NBA Cup pool-play games will be nationally televised, further pushing the narrative that the league doesn’t view the Raptors as one of the NBA’s premier teams.

The lack of respect goes beyond just the team; the players have had to endure harsh criticism as well. Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl all were forced to endure the pressure of being involved in trade rumors leading up to the Feb. 5th deadline last season, and that has not slowed down throughout this offseason. Franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes had a career year last season, and after finishing fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, he still was only selected to the All-Defensive Second Team. Not to mention, the clear leader of a playoff team that fell one game short of reaching the second round was snubbed from the three All-NBA Teams entirely.

Barnes may have been overlooked by the media, but surely one would think the fans would be better at appreciating his greatness. Unfortunately, the opposite is true as the two-time All-Star was left off the list of top-10 candidates to win DPOY in 2027, according to Kalshi. The private federal exchange website features real-life users betting against each other, meaning Barnes’ low odds to win are due to the lack of faith by the fans. He trails the overwhelming favorite and reigning unanimous winner Victor Wembanyama, amongst several other former winners and runners-up.

All of this is just building up the ultimate “underdog” story for the Raptors. With the addition of a 15-year veteran coming off a season averaging a career-high 27.9 points per game, Toronto has all the tools necessary to be a legitimate championship contender. The glaring issue lies in the lack of depth in the center rotation, but if Poeltl can return to his form from before the lower back strain last season, Toronto could find itself competing in the Eastern Conference Finals.