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You don’t need the latest sports package to watch Scottie Barnes lead the Toronto Raptors to victory this season, because you can simply follow him on PlayStation.
If you’ve engaged with Barnes at all off the court, you probably know the former NBA Rookie of the Year is also a huge gamer who loves to share his sessions via Twitch. These days, thousands of people have been tuning in to watch him play NBA 2K24 ahead of the real-life NBA season.
“I love gaming,” Barnes told Narcity during a lengthy chat ahead of the NBA season. “I’m able to connect with my friends every day when I’m not seeing them all the way here in Canada.”
Now he’s teaming up with Sony to join the PlayStation Playmakers lineup, which is a roster of top celebrities and athletes who share their own gaming adventures with their fans. Other notable stars in the program include LeBron James and Canadian actor Finn Wolfhard, though Barnes is the newest addition to the group.
The team-up it comes at the perfect time for Barnes, who says he’s been playing a lot of NBA 2K24 as he gears up for the 2023-24 NBA season. The game recreates the NBA
That means there’s a video game version of Barnes in NBA 2K24, although the real player admits he doesn’t play himself very often in the game. “I just like creating the player and being able to just do whatever I want out there on the floor, you know?” he said. “Unless I gotta play with my friends and (…) I’ve gotta smack them up a little bit,” he adds with a smile.
Barnes was happy to talk about his game and his gaming in our chat, and we even got a chance to ask him how NBA players feel about being rated out of 100 for games like NBA 2K24. For instance, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has the highest rating in the game at 98, whereas the up-and-coming Barnes has an 83 and his rookie teammate Gradey Dick has a 72 going into the season.
