Scottie Barnes is an All Star again in 2026. This feels correct, mostly because Scottie is often the only person in the building who looks like he is having a good time. He has these highlights where he stares at the ball after a dunk, as if he is surprised the air stayed inside of it.
The Eastern Conference coaches picked him as a reserve, which is a nice gesture. It is better than not being picked. My uncle once told me that recognition is just a polite way of people asking you to do more work for the same price. He worked at a laminate flooring warehouse for thirty years, so he knows about ceilings.
Ghosts of Raptors Past
While we celebrate Scottie, the internet is busy asking who we hate the most. People mention opposing role players who ruined our nights. It is a specific kind of pain when a guy who averages four points a game suddenly looks like Michael Jordan against us.
For the Spurs, it was Derek Fisher and that point four second shot. For us, the list is longer than the line at a Lawrence Avenue Tim Hortons during a snowstorm. Sometimes it is a guy like Mike Dunleavy or Gerald Henderson. They just show up, ruin the evening, and disappear back into the shadows of the box score.
The All Star Snubs
There is some noise about Brandon Ingram not making the cut. People are calling it ridiculous. Ingram has been instrumental for his team, but the All Star game only has so many roster spots. It is like trying to fit my entire extended family into a single booth at a Swiss Chalet.
Someone is always going to have to sit on a folding chair in the aisle. Ingram is the guy on the folding chair this year. He is playing well, but the coaches decided they wanted something else. Maybe they just like Scottie more. He does smile a lot.
Gradey and the Growing Pains
Then there is Gradey Dick. Someone posted that he was not ready, which is a thing people say when a young player misses a rotation. Gradey is tall and blonde and wears bright suits. He looks like he should be selling high end real estate in the Annex, but instead he is trying to navigate a baseline screen.
We are also talking about dirty players again. Every team has one, or at least every team we play against seems to have one. Basketball is a contact sport, but sometimes it feels like some guys are just out there to see how many elbows they can fit into a forty eight minute window. It is exhausting to watch.
Anyway, Scottie is an All Star. We should probably be happy about that. I think I am happy. It is hard to tell sometimes when the wind chill is this bad. I am going to go look at a photo of Marcus Banks to remind myself that things could be much weirder.