Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) and forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) react against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter of game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
By Sean Keeley on

UPDATE: Grange posted a detailed explanation Thursday afternoon about why he initially said he’d voted for Scottie Barnes on the All-NBA 3rd Team, now saying that he was mistaken and had forgotten that he hadn’t voted for him when he submitted his ballot several weeks ago.

ORIGINAL: Crisis management experts tell you that when you’re facing an issue where people are mad at you, the worst thing you can do is create a “reputation vacuum” and allow others to fill it instead of being the one to do so.

Let’s keep that in mind as we delve into the situation around Sportsnet’s Michael Grange and the curious case of the All-NBA vote for Scottie Barnes that never was.

Let’s start by pointing out that Barnes averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists while leading the Raptors to the fifth seed this season. Toronto’s best player also finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and was voted onto the NBA’s All-Defensive Second-Team.

“Scottie Barnes makes second team all-defense, a little surprising since he was 5th in DPOY voting,” wrote Grange on May 22. “I had him 1st team. He joins Kawhi Leonard and OG Anunoby as the only Raptors to make all-defense, all with second team honours.”

We’ll come back to that in a second. But first, there was a strong sense among Raptors fans that Barnes would end up somewhere on the All-NBA team. He did not, and Grange seemed to agree it was a snub when, on May 24, he shared his surprise that the Toronto star missed out on the honor.

“The playoffs makes Scottie Barnes missing out on all-NBA look a little different,” he wrote on X. “I had him 3rd team this year, but if he plays anything close to that (playoff) standard next season (24/8/6 w all-world D) he’ll be an all-NBA lock going forward.”

So here’s the problem. On May 27, the NBA released the full voter ballots for all major awards. A quick glance at Grange’s ballots revealed that, while his All-Defensive Team vote checked out, his All-NBA picks did not include Barnes at all.

That, naturally, caused some consternation amongst Raptors fans, who started demanding that Grange explain himself. Did he mistake his vote? Did the NBA voting system screw him over? Did he lie?

Whatever answer Toronto fans were hoping for, they haven’t gotten yet. Furthermore, instead of explaining the offending X post, Grange appears to have deleted it on May 28. And while the reporter appears to be attempting the ignore-and-move-forward strategy, his social media profile is getting absolutely ratioed by those who want answers.

Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation for why Grange’s vote didn’t match his statement, but the longer he doesn’t offer one, the worse it looks. And there’s nothing that fans dislike more than a lack of accountability.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley