UPDATE: Grange posted a detailed explanation Thursday afternoon about why he initially said he\u2019d voted for Scottie Barnes on the All-NBA 3rd Team, now saying that he was mistaken and had forgotten that he hadn\u2019t voted for him when he submitted his ballot several weeks ago.<\/p>\n
I want to explain and hopefully shed some light on what happened with regard to my all-NBA ballot. The short version: Apologies for a sincere mistake and for any subsequent confusion. A more detailed explanation is here \u2b07\ufe0f: pic.twitter.com\/y5LY0TrPjy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n ORIGINAL: Crisis management experts tell you that when you\u2019re facing an issue where people are mad at you, the worst thing you can do is create a \u201creputation vacuum\u201d and allow others to fill it instead of being the one to do so.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s keep that in mind as we delve into the situation around Sportsnet\u2019s Michael Grange and the curious case of the All-NBA vote for Scottie Barnes that never was.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s 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\u2019s best player also finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and was voted onto the NBA\u2019s All-Defensive Second-Team.<\/p>\n The 2025-26 Kia NBA All-Defensive Second Team:<\/p>\n \u25aa\ufe0f Bam Adebayo, @MiamiHEAT<\/a> \u2014 NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cScottie Barnes makes second team all-defense, a little surprising since he was 5th in DPOY voting,\u201d wrote Grange on May 22<\/a>. \u201cI had him 1st team. He joins Kawhi Leonard and OG Anunoby as the only Raptors to make all-defense, all with second team honours.\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe playoffs makes Scottie Barnes missing out on all-NBA look a little different,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cI 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\u2019ll be an all-NBA lock going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n So here\u2019s the problem. On May 27, the NBA released the full voter ballots for all major awards<\/a>. A quick glance at Grange\u2019s ballots revealed that, while his All-Defensive Team vote checked out<\/a>, his All-NBA picks did not include Barnes at all<\/a>.<\/p>\n That, naturally, caused some consternation<\/a> 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?<\/p>\n Whatever answer Toronto fans were hoping for, they haven\u2019t gotten yet. Furthermore, instead of explaining the offending X post, Grange appears to have deleted it<\/a> 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<\/a> by those who want answers.<\/p>\n Grange deleting the tweet after 500k views and 24 hours of getting pressed pic.twitter.com\/x5Hpo0kAZd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stevie (@RaptorsShaq) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Crying @ Grange deleting the tweet<\/p>\n \u2014 Jordan A. Hayles (@MR_STiXX) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Maybe there\u2019s a reasonable explanation for why Grange\u2019s vote didn\u2019t match his statement, but the longer he doesn\u2019t offer one, the worse it looks. And there\u2019s nothing that fans dislike more than a lack of accountability.<\/p>\n \t
\u25aa\ufe0f OG Anunoby, @nyknicks<\/a>
\u25aa\ufe0f Scottie Barnes, @Raptors<\/a>
\u25aa\ufe0f Dyson Daniels, @ATLHawks<\/a>
\u25aa\ufe0f Cason Wallace, @okcthunder<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/03kDcuEFLZ<\/a><\/p>\n