NBA summer league action is winding down, but it started with a bang thanks to some notable debuts, including Scoot Henderson’s. I chatted with the Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard in Las Vegas about the ongoing Damian Lillard situation, falling to the no. 3 pick, his development, and his desire to be great.
We talked two mornings after his exciting debut with Portland, which was cut short due to a shoulder strain. Henderson hasn’t been ruled out for the remainder of summer league, but when we spoke he didn’t move his right arm. He kept it tucked to his side, and shook hands only using his left hand with every person who greeted him.
Below are some highlights from our interview. This transcript was lightly edited for clarity.
On Damian Lillard’s Future
Scoot Henderson: I’m super blessed to be a Blazer. Being around [head coach] Chauncey Billups, and having Clyde Drexler, and people like that. And Dame has been there to talk to me.
Kevin O’Connor: For now.
Scoot: Yeah.
O’Connor: What have you learned from Dame?
Scoot: Just to always stay down. A guy like Dame is very, very humble and always goes back to work. I have similar traits, so just picking his brain about that.
O’Connor: Some people say that the organization has to do right by Dame, others say they need to get the best return for him if he is traded. How do you feel about that?
Scoot: Either way, I’m going to continue to go on my path. It’s definitely something out of my control. Professional sports is a business at the end of the day. I’m just going about it day by day, and just like y’all are hearing it from ear to ear, post to post. I haven’t really been on social media to really see what’s going on, but I’m here with the team at summer league, and my main focus is, especially when I’m out, to cheer my team.
O’Connor: Ultimately it’s making the best of the situation. If he happens to come back, it’s opportunities for you to grow off-ball.
Scoot: Exactly.
O’Connor: If he’s not back, you’re thrown right in the driver’s seat.
Scoot: Exactly. And I’m with that. If he leaves, I’m going to just embrace that. I’m going to embrace being the point guard for the team. And that comes with practice. I don’t have my spot guaranteed; I know that. My goal is to get better every day at practice and get better game by game.
On Falling to the No. 3 Pick
At one point during our conversation, the entire Charlotte Hornets team came down the hallway. Center Kai Jones walked by Henderson. Jones had just posterized Victor Wembanyama, the no. 1 pick to the Spurs, two days earlier.
O’Connor: Wemby’s gonna have a target on his back.
Scoot: Every day, every game. Definitely. It’s a lot of pressure being that guy and being just that high of a pick and being that kind of a talent. Not a lot of players have that height and that skill set. So, you’re going to have a target on your back.
When Brandon Miller, the no. 2 pick, strolled by he asked, “You all right?” Scoot said, “Yep,” as he dapped up Miller using his left hand.
O’Connor: Why’d the Hornets take him over you?
Scoot: I don’t know. It’s not my fault. I do what I can, man. That’s being a Blazer.
O’Connor: Do you feel an edge, as the no. 3 pick, to prove you should’ve gone first?
Scoot: If I was the no. 1 pick I’d still feel the edge. So just making sure everybody knows that that’s how I’m coming, and I’m coming up with a fiery edge for myself no matter where I went. I would’ve had the same edge if I went 1. My main focus is basketball and being the greatest version of myself. So, whether I was 1, 2, 50, I would still have that edge.
On the G League and His New Goals
The Hornets preferred Miller over Henderson, among other reasons, because the former Alabama star has superior size at 6-foot-9 and a jumper that hit more than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
But Henderson had his jumper going early in his Blazers debut, hitting three pull-ups in the first six minutes. He did cool off after that, though, ending at 5-of-13 from the floor. His jumper is a critical key to his success. The greater the threat he is from 3, the more it’ll open up the drive. For now, defenses will influence him to shoot by going under screens.
Scoot: I’m going to take a bunch of [3-pointers] every time they do it. I’m going to shoot every time I want to do that. So if I’m feeling comfortable doing that, which I am every single time, they’re going to stop going under. Hopefully they keep going under, so I keep getting wide-open shots.
O’Connor: What level do you think you could reach as a shooter?
Scoot: I think I could reach a very high level.
O’Connor: You think like a 40 percent guy?
Scoot: Yeah, for sure. It’s really just about the attempts. I don’t really have to attempt that many. That’s not what I want to do. That’s not what I want to be known as. I want to be known as somebody that can play all around the floor.
Henderson bypassed his senior year of high school to join the G League Ignite, an NBA-run developmental program based in Nevada. He played two seasons there, so I asked him what he learned the most from that experience.
Scoot: Throughout the game, leading through adversity, leading through times where we’re going through a crazy slump. A whole bunch. Having confidence and taking the 3. Having that confidence to always put pressure on the defense. Stepping up in that defensive role. Picking up the ball on defense and talking. Just a whole bunch of things that I developed from that time to now. It was fun to be out there again [on Friday with the Blazers]. It was a lot of fun to be out there with a huge crowd. That’s what I dream of. So, that was dope.
On His New Teammates
Henderson wasn’t Portland’s only first-round pick. At no. 23, the Blazers selected forward Kris Murray. In their single game playing together, Murray drained two shots off passes from Henderson.
O’Connor: How would you describe Kris Murray to somebody who’s never seen him play?
Scoot: He’s a silent assassin. He’ll wet it up from deep. He can get in there, he can get in the paint. He gets the play off. He’s the best if he can attack the basket. Kris is fun to play with. It’s easy to play with Kris. He spaced the floor a lot, but he can also pump-fake and get in the paint himself.
One year ago, shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe was Portland’s lottery pick. Now, the Blazers have three recent first-round lottery picks that appear to be pivotal pieces of its future.
Murray and Sharpe are essentially opposites, given that Murray was a senior entering the NBA and Sharpe didn’t play a single game of college basketball. Sharpe is also only eight months older than Henderson, but he’s an elite athlete. In the third quarter of Henderson’s debut last Friday, the two nearly connected on an explosive lob.
Scoot: When we get that down, it’s over with, man. Oh my god, when we get that down … because it was right there. It’s going to be showtime, man.
O’Connor: How would you describe Sharpe?
Scoot: Super skilled. He can do everything on the floor, man. I love playing with guys that just go out there and play to win, and that’s what he does. He can shoot it very well. He can attack the basket. As you can see, he dunked on Jay Huff, a very good shot blocker. So, that just tells you who he is as a player.
On the Drive for Success
The Blazers selected Henderson in the hope that he can lead the franchise like Lillard has the past 11 years. And while he must make dramatic improvements as any 19-year-old would, there’s no doubt about the investment he puts into his craft. Lately, Henderson has worked out with Steph Curry.
Scoot: Just being around Steph and seeing the work he puts in, it’s just kind of crazy what he does. But just being around that, and the more success I get and the more blessed I am, I just want to always go back to thanking God, first and foremost. But also just me being more hungry and me making space for my appetite. I’m never too full of what I got with what I have going on. That’s never—whether it’s in basketball, whether it’s in the business aspect.
O’Connor: Have you talked with Steph or other successful people about how you don’t become complacent?
Scoot: Definitely. He said it’s pretty tough. Especially guys like Steph Curry, man, like dude, he’s, shit, the greatest … would you say the greatest—
O’Connor: He could retire today and be one of the 10, 15 greatest players of all time if he wanted to stop.
Scoot: Yeah. So like he said, he told me it’s hard to find that every single season and every day. But it’s something that great players do. They say great players get bored of doing the same thing over and over again, and that’s what it’s going to have to be for me. I’m going to find a joy in it, somehow. Whether it’s one year from now, five years, whether I’m blessed to get 10 years, 18, whatever LeBron James has or whatever, I’m going to find a joy in it.
O’Connor: Why do you have that desire?
Scoot: I really can’t help it. It’s something that’s just in me, something that I just can’t get bored of every time I step on the court. There’d be days where I’m like, “I don’t feel like going to the court.” I get on the court and I’m like, “Oh, it’s time to work.” It’s just something that clicks every time. I don’t know what it is. I’m just blessed to have that in me, because I know a lot of players don’t. And that’s what makes me different.
Henderson will be featured in a Religion of Sports/Ringer Sports documentary called Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey. It will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on August 8.