The players had differing opinions about the newest rendition of the All-Star Game, and Scottie's answer makes perfect sense for the type of player he is.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend has officially come and gone, and the Toronto Raptors surely left their mark. Fans saw Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin duke it out in the Rising Stars Game on Friday, Scottie Barnes compete in the Shooting Stars Competition on Saturday, and Brandon Ingram, joined by Barnes and head coach Darko Rajakovic, participate in all three teams of the All-Star Games on Sunday.
Sunday’s finale was the best NBA fans have seen in recent memory; the players, led by San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, were competing rather than the typical shootout with no defense. Simply put, it was a fantastic showing that was extremely well received, and this may have been one of the best ideas to come from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) | © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Players gave their different opinions of the newest format, and many discussed wanting to go back to playing the typical East vs. West. Outside of the event in Indianapolis in 2024, fans haven’t seen the format that was used since the dawn of the All-Star Game in 1951, since 2017. After such a successful event this year in the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, it would be surprising to see Silver change the big game yet again, but he’s had crazier ideas before.
After winning with Team USA Stars, Barnes gave his opinion on the addition of nationalities when speaking with the media.
“[The format] actually turned out pretty good,” said Barnes. “I wasn’t sure at first. I didn’t know what team was going to advance, and I also just wanted to be out there for a good amount of time. So, I thought the regular 12 [minutes] over four quarters would’ve been solid, but I think I was out there pretty much a long time.”
Competition is something rarely seen before the end of the game during All-Star Weekend. With the addition of four 12-minute games, there really is no time to mess around, otherwise the team may not be in the Finals. There are still players who don’t care, though; Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, who are both dealing with injuries, started in the first game and came out after about two minutes to let everyone else play.
Even if they did play, they have regularly shown how little they care to participate in aggressive competition in a game that can only take away from their already illustrious careers. Both players are known as two of the best in the world, so the risk of further aggravating injury simply may not be worth it to them.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) | © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
To a player like Barnes, who earns his money by being a menace defensively and a playmaker offensively, the All-Star game wouldn’t be very exciting for him if he didn’t try. He’s not the player to be throwing down 360 dunks or shooting from halfcourt as we’ve seen in previous years, and that’s not what fans want to see anyway!
True fans want to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level, and Barnes showed his ability to do that by guarding the hottest players at the most crucial moments, and even hitting a game-winner to end the first game against Rajakovic and Team World in overtime.