Scottie Barnes has proved himself as one of the best young forwards in the league. Despite all the big names that the Toronto Raptors have parted ways with since the off-season, Barnes has picked up the team’s major offensive load. By averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, the 22-year-old got rewarded with an All-Star selection (as an injury replacement for Joel Embiid). Despite being selected as one of the best 26 players in the league, fans still claim that Barnes has failed to beat the “allegations”.
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During the Skills Challenge of the All-Star Saturday Night, Scottie Barnes had a few forgettable moments. First, during Round 1 of the contest, Barnes became the butt end of the jokes when he fumbled his dribble. Later, during the tiebreaker of the event, the 2022 Rookie of the Year’s overhead backward half-court shot got fans to mock him. Users on X (formerly “Twitter”) were nasty as they claimed that the third-year player had autism.
This isn’t the first time Barnes has faced such allegations. Over the past few years, basketball enthusiasts have trolled the Raptors star because of his unpredictability and awkwardness. Even during his live streams, certain random actions have people believing that Scottie has a neurological disability.
On one of his live streams, Scottie addressed these baseless allegations. Calling out his detractors, he seemed baffled.
“Come on, bro. What’s wrong with y’all, bro? It’s weird, bro. Like how did that go upon me? I don’t get it,” Barnes said on the allegations.
Scottie Barnes does not have autism nor is there any proof about him having autism. Several NBA players get caught up in rumors. This is merely a false narrative that social media users began a couple of years ago to pull Barnes’ legs and they pinpoint any of his mistakes to prove their take correct.
