Former Florida State star Scottie Barnes wins NBA honor

Former Florida State basketball star Scottie Barnes was named the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. He beat out former USC center Evan Mobley and former Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham for the prestigious award.

During his fist NBA season with the Toronto Raptors, Barnes started all 74 games he appeared in, averaging 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He also shot 30.1 percent from the 3-point line and 73.5 percent from the free throw line.

Despite quickly establishing himself as a starter in his rookie season, that was not always the case for Scottie Barnes at Florida State. He made just seven starts in 24 appearances with the Seminoles, averaging 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists on his way to becoming the ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Sixth Man of the Year.

Barnes is a former five-star recruit who ranked No. 8 overall in the 2020 On3 Consensus. The Montverde Academy product also ranked No. 4 among small forwards and No. 1 in the state of Florida before emerging as a star in college and at the professional level.

More about Scottie Barnes

Former Florida State basketball star Scottie Barnes opened up to the NBA about his journey to the league at the NBA Draft last summer. The Toronto Raptors selected the forward with the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft and have already seen great returns.

“I’ve been watching the NBA since I was little,” Barnes said, via the NBA’s Twitter. “I started off being rocked in my Grandma’s hands watching Kobe Bryant. I feel like I first started hitting my strides in basketball when I was in ninth or 10th grade. I made my first USA basketball team for U-16.”

Barnes was a member of the U-16 USA basketball team that won gold in the 2017 FIBA Americas Championship. He would go on to win additional gold medals at the FIBA World Cup in 2018 (U-17 team) and 2019 (U-19 team).