Photo Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Magic Johnson Compares Scottie Barnes To Himself: “He’s A Matchup Nightmare Like I Was”

One of the top rookies this season, Scottie Barnes has developed into a reliable key piece for the Toronto Raptors. He brought size and strength and has helped the team become a formidable team in the NBA.

Barnes runs the floor hard and is a high-energy player. He has also proven to be an adept defender and has shown no hesitation in guarding the top players in the league. On the year, Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 49.2% shooting from the field.

Barnes has been drawing plenty of attention this season due to his high level of play. Recently, he earned some heavy praise from arguably the greatest point guard in NBA history, Magic Johnson. 

Raving about the 20-year old Raptors rookie, Johnson said that Barnes can do everything on the floor and is a matchup nightmare just like he was back then.

Per The Toronto Star:

“There’s definitely a lot of ‘Showtime’ in him,” Johnson told Murtz Jaffer of the Toronto Star. “He can do everything on the basketball court much like myself.

“He’s big. He’s strong. He’s physical. He can make his teammates better like I was able to do and he’s a matchup nightmare like I was.”