THE CHOSEN ONE

AT JUST 23, SCOTTIE BARNES IS SHOULDERING THE WEIGHT OF AN IMPATIENT, BASKETBALLMAD CITY, A HIT-ANDMISS TEAM, AND HIS OWN COLOSSAL AMBITIONS.

- ALEX WONG

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THE FACE OF THE FRANCHISE AND ITS BEST CHANCE OF SALVATION

To observe Scottie Barnes on the NBA court, his six-foot-eight frame illuminated by the bright lights of Scotiabank Arena is to behold a marvel of creation. Spectators grow wide-eyed, awed by his albatross wingspan (seven feet, two inches) and gravity-defying springiness. Wait, how does someone so big move like that? As the crowd follows him back and forth on the court, heads swiveling like it’s Wimbledon, you can almost see it, slung across his athletic form: the hopes and dreams of one vast basketball-mad nation. When he dunks, the crowd oohs. When he steps to defend a teammate from an overly aggressive opponent, his face flashes mean, and the crowd ahhs. In this setting, under these lights, Scottie Barnes is both a man and the man.

Yet to see him in his living room, hoodie on, controller in hand, eyes locked on his screen, is to witness something else: a boy. Barnes was born in 2001, placing him squarely in digital-first Gen Z. While he is the recent recipient of a $225-million (US) contract, making him the highest-paid Toronto Raptor in history, his most prized possession seems to be his PlayStation. “Wherever I go, I just need two things,” he tells me. “My PlayStation and good Wi-Fi.”