Barnes left the mic waiting to pray with the Wizards
The 25-year-old scored 28 points, but he crossed the court to join the prayer circle of the team that had just lost.
On Friday, October 23, Scottie Barnes crossed the court with a towel on his head and left his interview waiting so he could pray with the Wizards, the team Toronto had just beaten 112-102. RELEVANT Magazine reports it.
The mic was his
In the NBA the clock shows no mercy: the buzzer sounds, and within seconds the star of the night is in front of a camera, microphone ready, still catching his breath.
That night the star was Barnes. He scored 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out five assists in Toronto's win over Washington. The script called for a towel over the shoulder and a couple of quick answers.
«First the circle, then the camera.»
Barnes, 25, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, did something else. He crossed half court with the towel over his head and walked toward the Wizards' prayer circle. A Washington player motioned for him to come over.
He stepped in between Anthony Gill and several players from the opposing team. The circle closed around him. Toronto's broadcast held off on throwing it to the sideline: the interview was going to wait. When the group opened up, there were hugs. Barnes crossed the court again, and the microphone was still there.
Your rival is also your neighbor
Winning pushes you to talk about yourself first. The guy who scores the points has a right to the credit and the moment. That night the credit was Barnes's, and he used it the other way around: first the circle, then the camera.
Praying with someone you just beat doesn't change the score. The Wizards lost by 10, and that stays in the standings. But the gesture shows how you see the person across from you: a colleague, a neighbor, not an enemy.
Anthony Gill has spent seven seasons in Washington, and in 2024 he was one of five finalists for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, given by NBA writers for community service. That same year he spoke at Liberty University's convocation alongside Jonathan Isaac.
"I tell myself I need to be more like Jesus... He was the ultimate servant. So I serve the people around me," he told the students (translated by Sígueme).
The circle was already formed when the towel crossed the court. Barnes didn't have to organize anything; he just had to walk toward the people who had just lost to him.
The scoreboard doesn't define you
A result lasts until the next game. Whoever builds his identity on winning lives afraid of losing, and in the NBA you lose often. Scripture offers a different center: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3, ESV).
Paul was writing to a community where everyone wanted to shine. His proposal is still uncomfortable: treating the other person as more significant than yourself. On a court, that shows up in gestures that never make the game recap.
The next time something goes well for you, check your first reaction. Do you run to the microphone, or do you look for someone?
This week you can put it into practice: when you win something, however small, go to the person who came up short and say something good about them in front of others. No scoreboard decides who you are. And the question stays open: who do you look for when you win?
