"More giving than Steph Curry and Lebron James combined"- NBA fans laud Raptors' Scottie Barnes' $50,000 aid to prevent school shutdown

Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes made headlines for his selfless action that aided a private school in Canada. According to an article in the "Toronto Star," Polkadots Playland & Montessori Academy was at risk of closing down due to financial difficulties.

The school had set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds, but had some payments due on Monday. According to a post on X by NBA Central on Sunday, the Raptors All-Star helped them in their plight by donating $50,000.

Some fans could not help but draw comparisons upon hearing about Scottie Barnes' selfless act.

"Scottie is HIM. More giving than (Steph) Curry and LeBron (James) combined," one fan tweeted.

"Tristan Thompson could never," another person said.

"Think about every NBA player (Stephen Jackson) who threw away money equal or greater to this amount just to check in with some loser," one person commented.

Meanwhile, other fans focused on praising Barnes for helping the school remain open.

"He is a good person obviously. Raised right. Thank you Barnes family for this young man. Great ambassador for Toronto," one person said.

"That's awesome! Shoutout to Scottie for stepping up and saving the day! Schools like that are so important for the community," another person tweeted.

"What a beautiful act of kindness from Scottie Barnes, That school was truly lucky to have him," one commenter said.

Polkadot Playland and Montessori Academy is located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The school reportedly offers special programs for children with autism spectrum disorder.

The school's GoFundMe page stated that the "cost of rent, utilities, insurance and staffing" has contributed to the financial burden. At the time of writing, 83,781 Canadian Dollars had been raised, exceeding the 80,000 goal that was posted.

The top donation is worth 50,000 made on Saturday, but is marked as anonymous.

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There are claims that Scottie Barnes has autism

Rumors are a constant in the NBA, and one of the more bizarre and persistent ones involves Scottie Barnes. It's not about him being traded or leaving the Toronto Raptors, but rather a condition that some claim he has.

Several people on X, Reddit and TikTok have claimed that the Raptors star has autism, despite there being no concrete proof of it.

Barnes are aware of these allegations and has even addressed them before. A TikTok clip that has been reposted to Reddit shows him addressing these rumors once and for all.

"'Bro's never beating the autistic allegations,'" Barnes read. "Bro that's not, come onobro, what's wrong with y'all bro? It's weird bro, like, how did that go upon me? I don't get it."

Posts from the nbacirclejerk community on Reddit

Aside from this clip, neither Barnes nor the Toronto Raptors organization ever stated that the forward has autism. Regardless, allegations and rumors that claim he does, continue to circulate. Despite these, Scottie Barnes has thrived in Toronto. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2022 and he made his first, and so far, only All-Star team in 2024.