Raptors’ Scottie Barnes joins Brandon Ingram in top 15 of East All-Star fan voting
The second returns for the 2025-26 NBA All-Star Game fan voting have arrived, and they were much kinder to Scottie Barnes this time.
After the star forward wasn’t even top 20 amongst Eastern Conference players after first returns last week — a surprising omission to be sure — he jumped to No. 14 with a total of 232,072 votes. Barnes trails his Toronto Raptors teammate Brandon Ingram (No. 11) by just under 50,000.
Meanwhile, ex-Raptor OG Anunoby sits just above Barnes with 241,557 votes (plus-9,485), while Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to lead the East (2,092,284).
Bolstering the one-time All-Star’s jump in fan voting has been the Raptors — and his own — success since the first returns were released.
In the four games since, Toronto has gone 3-1 while Barnes has averaged 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks while posting a plus-5.5 rating. That stretch also included a 24-point, 14-rebound and 10-assist triple-double against the Denver Nuggets, his second of the season. It was also his second triple-double in three games, making him the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat.
For the season, the 24-year-old is averaging 19.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks on 50.6/35.2/83.7 per cent shooting splits through 37 games.
All the while, Barnes has been a lynchpin for the Raptors’ 4th-ranked defence as the only player in the NBA this season with 50-plus steals and blocks — currently at 105 total stocks.
As for Ingram, he’s continued to be the scoring savant Toronto hoped for when acquiring and extending the slinky forward. In the four games since the first returns, the 28-year-old has averaged 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks while also shooting 45.0 per cent from distance. A span that included a 30-point, eight-rebound and miraculous game-tying shot against the Nuggets that never was, and a 29-point, nine-rebound, two-steal and two-block performance against the Atlanta Hawks. All of which helps explain his jump up from the No. 12 spot after first returns.
For the season, Ingram is averaging 22.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 47.6/35.3/81.9 per cent shooting through 37 games.
The likelihood of either Barnes or Ingram making the All-Star game through fan voting remains low, but if the Raptors can continue to stack wins and maintain a top-four spot in the East, it’ll be hard to deny the forward duo the recognition they deserve. Should both make it, it would be the first time since the post-championship season (2019-20) that the Raptors had two all-stars in the same season (Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam).
As a reminder, the format for the mid-season showcase has changed this season. The top 10 vote-getters — regardless of position — will be named to the starting lineups for each conference. All the while, there will be a “United States vs. the World” angle, with two teams made up of American all-stars and one comprised exclusively of international talent. The three teams will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games.
Fan voting will conclude on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 11:59 p.m. ET. No more returns are expected to be announced until starters are revealed toward the end of the month.
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