TORONTO — With the announcement of the 2026 All-Star Game reserves on Sunday, campaign season is finally over.
Coaches vote for the reserves in their own conferences. As such, coaches make the cases of their players, both publicly and privately, leading up to the final decisions. Coaches, after all, cannot vote for players on their own teams.
“I think (with) what our team accomplished so far in the second year of a rebuild, the way Scottie (Barnes) is playing this season, the way (Brandon Ingram) is playing this season, I think those two guys deserve consideration, nomination and to be announced as All-Stars tonight,” Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Sunday before his team won 107-100 over the Utah Jazz. “We’ll take it. We’ll take both of those guys being in the All-Star Game.”
He’ll have to take just one. Barnes was named as a reserve, but Ingram didn’t make the cut. After the starters were named, there were only three Eastern Conference players with unimpeachable cases: Barnes, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell and Atlanta Hawks’ Jalen Johnson. After that, the cases were all flawed. There were players who scored but brought little else to the table. There were well-rounded players on bad teams. There were very good players who, by their own standards, were having disappointing seasons.
Some players with iffy cases were going to make it, and some weren’t. Ingram didn’t. The Raptors entered Sunday’s game a little bit better with him off the floor than on it. Ingram not going to Inglewood, Calif., isn’t a grand miscarriage of justice.
While Ingram certainly would have liked to mark his return to health with an All-Star spot, here’s the reality: The Raptors desperately need both Ingram and Barnes at full power to make real noise in the Eastern Conference. And so long as they’re healthy, they allow each other to be their best selves.
“I really do think that they complement each other,” Rajaković said. “They’re different types of players. There are things that Brandon does at an elite level and there are things that Scottie is doing … at (an) elite level, but they’re so different.
“Scottie is amazing in (the) open court and transition. Now, BI is taking advantage of that. He’s doing a better job in open court as well. BI is (an) elite scorer in half court, in (isolations). I think they have a lot of respect for each other.”
While Barnes’ case was clear, the Raptors really wanted the honour for Ingram. He has been dogged by injuries for the last several years, which is why the Raptors were able to acquire him for such a low return last February. He has missed only two games this season and averages a team-high 21.9 points per game.
On the night that the Raptors tied their win total from last year, Ingram’s part in that felt poignant. Of course, Ingram is far from the only reason for that: Barnes’ improved play, a better defence, the signing of Sandro Mamukelashvili and more have played huge roles. But Ingram has been the biggest addition.
“We always talk about standards for (yourself),” Ingram said after the game, adding that the omission stung him a bit. “Maybe my standard is equal to what (the coaches) think my standards should be, as well. It’s only motivation to keep going, keep finding ways to get better and keep trying to win.”
At least, one would think, being left out of the game would allow Ingram to go somewhere warm for some rest and relaxation.
“I’m staying here. I’m staying here,” Ingram said. “I know my girlfriend (GloRilla, the rapper) thinks I’m going to that celebrity game (that she is playing in during All-Star weekend). But no, ma’am.”
Both Barnes and Ingram were instrumental in turning a languid first half into a win against Utah, making key plays to turn the game. Ingram scored six consecutive points for the Raptors in the third quarter, with his trademark footwork and midrange jumper getting the Raptors ahead. And then, with Barnes out of the game due to an ankle injury, Ingram slithered his way to a layup and helped force a Jusuf Nurkic miss on the other end to help put the game away in the fourth. Ingram gives up four inches and 85 pounds to the Jazz big man.
In that sense, Ingram doesn’t deserve credit only for how much he has played, but how he has played. Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and Mamukelashvili have received most of the credit for allowing the Raptors to manage without the injured Jakob Poeltl, the only true centre on the roster, but Ingram’s length has also added an extra layer of rim protection.
Barnes gets most of the credit on that end, though. He had two steals and four blocks against Utah, including one on Walter Clayton Jr. in the third quarter that he swatted and saved to a teammate. His shooting has dissipated as the season has gone on, and it would be great if he could find that touch at some point. That’s not his game, though. He holds the Raptors’ defence together, and defence is the biggest reason the Raptors are 30-21.
It is a mutually beneficial relationship. Ingram’s scoring prowess has allowed Barnes to focus on impacting the games in other ways, while Barnes’ presence means Ingram doesn’t have to take on the biggest defensive assignments. (Barnes’ screening has also been big in freeing up Ingram to get open away from the ball, crucial with Poeltl not available.)
Ingram has been essential for the Raptors to establish a competitive floor. As ever, Barnes represents the ceiling.
“The next thing for him is … to be elected as a starter,” Rajaković said. “So I’m starting that campaign right now.”
Maybe campaign season never ends.
