Victor Wembanyama was stunning in a dominant win by the San Antonio Spurs over the Toronto Raptors.
The rookie had a historic stat line against the Raptors as the Spurs won, 122-99, on the road in Toronto. It was arguably the best game of Wembanyama’s NBA career thus far. He became one of the only players in league history to ever record 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks, and five assists in a game.
Meanwhile, despite recently making the NBA All-Star Game as one of the injury replacements in the Eastern Conference, this was also one of the worst performances of the season for Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.
The former Rookie of the Year winner was 3-for-15 (20.0 percent) from the field, which marked the worst shooting percentage of his 2023-24 campaign to date. He had three shots blocked by Wembanyama.
It wasn’t just Wembanyama who made Barnes have a difficult night, though. San Antonio’s Jeremy Sochan did an outstanding job as the primary defender against Barnes during the victory.
Scottie Barnes to the locker room before the buzzer sounds pic.twitter.com/hSZk3lA750
— Oh no he didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 13, 2024
Before the game was officially over and while his teammates were still on the court, Barnes made his way back to the locker room.
After the game, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said that this was “not the standard” that the organization expects to see from Barnes (via TheStar.com):
“It is definitely a learning opportunity for all the players on the team,” he said at the post-game news conference. “From young guys to all the vets. And this is not the performance that we want to have, the competitive spirit that we want to have.”
Here is what some of the fans thought about Barnes’ decision:
Game isn’t even over and Scottie’s outta here! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/EIs10FvKiW
— Doc Naismith ℠ (@DocNaismith) February 13, 2024
Scottie Barnes leaving his teammates on the floor is not the leadership qualities the Raptors should expect from the “future of our franchise”. Be better. pic.twitter.com/ym5MlQvp2g
— RAPTORS RESPONSE (@raptorsresponse) February 13, 2024
Is Scottie Barnes leaving the bench early something the Raptors should look at? @JLew1050 has more: https://t.co/3EPhgf6g38 pic.twitter.com/FrKnEE3DsK
— JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) February 13, 2024
Scottie Barnes not himself since roster shakeup. Being thrust into the position of franchise player & primary facilitator has put immediate pressure on the kid & he is struggling to cope. Leadership is learned. @Raptors #raptors #nba #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/BaZi4CDJZt
— Rob Sinclair (@iamrobsinclair) February 13, 2024
Thoughts on this? I think it’s very disrespectful to your team and bench guys! He’s young and is still leaning but yikes. That’s not on imo pic.twitter.com/FyZmuQhncB
— #NworaHive (@BengoloKante) February 13, 2024
Ill say it….@Raptors should suspend Barnes for a game for just body language and leaving the bench early…..need to grow up #WeTheNorth. But im also glad we lost #top6pick
— Sean (@TLLSeanTaylor) February 13, 2024
