The Background

Scottie Barnes was born on Augest, 1, 2001 in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is a terrific player on the court and has potential to be one of the best players in the NBA. He can do it all ranging from finishing, to shooting 3’s, to having amazing defense. His journey began at Montverde Academy, where he was an absolute force. 2020 Montverde Academy is considered “Cade n em” and it is known as one of the best, if not, the best high school team to ever be assembled. 

Pre-Injury

Barnes was drafted in 2021 with the 4th overall pick by the Toronto Raptors. Where he ended up winning ROTY. Today, he is the teams first option and is also an All-Star in his 3rd year.

The Injury

On March 1, 2024, the Toronto Raptors were playing a game against the Golden State Warriors. Just a few minutes before halftime, Barnes jumped up into the air to get a block but he smacked his palm right onto the rim. Right after, he grabbed his hand in pain and walked over to the locker room. It turns out that Scottie had fracturded his third metacarpel bone. The 3rd metacarpel bone is the base of the middle finger which is actually smaller than the second metacarpel bone. Scottie underwent surgery for his fractured bone but there wasn’t an expected return date. However, a typical fractured 3rd metacarpel bone takes around 4-6 weeks to heal.

Post Injury 

As of today, the Toronto Raptors are 0-10 without their star player Scottie Barnes alongside other starters. As the weeks pass on, we can estimate that Scottie will come back before the playoffs. There are many exercises that athletes do in rehab when they fracture this bone. Most of these exercises use the wrist to move it or to squeeze. Some examples are wrist extensions, towel squeezes ETC. Hopefully Scottie Barnes will be back and we can watch his amazing gameplay again.