The Portland Trail Blazers entered the week of the 2026 NBA trade deadline with every reason to consider trading Scoot Henderson. Though he still has another season on his rookie-scale contract, injuries and inconsistency have become common talking points whenever Henderson is mentioned.
Thankfully, Portland opted to drown out the noise and embrace Henderson as a key building block—a decision that's already paid off.
Henderson returned to the Trail Blazers' rotation on Friday, Feb. 6 after missing the team's first 51 games. He instantly looked like the version of himself that fans swore he could be, running the team's offense with tremendous poise and proficiency.
Henderson finished Portland's 135-115 drubbing of the Memphis Grizzlies with 11 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and a steal—in just 21 minutes of play.
Considering it was his first game in over 10 months, Henderson's instant impact was impossible to ignore. He not only stuffed the stat sheet and flirted with a double-double in limited minutes, but produced a game-high +/- of +19 that accurately reflected his quality.
Though Henderson still has work to do before he becomes the true point guard of the future, his 2025-26 debut was a reminder of why the Trail Blazers were wise to keep him on the roster.
Scoot Henderson thrives in 2025-26 debut, reminds Blazers of potential
Despite being in his third NBA season, Henderson turned 22 years of age less than a week before this article was written. That's often overlooked when discussing the development of one of the younger third-year players in the Association.
Even when one looks beyond how much time he hypothetically has left in his career, Henderson has steadily improved in subtle ways.
For one, Henderson improved his three-point shooting from 32.5 percent as a rookie to 35.4 percent during his sophomore campaign in 2024-25. He also maintained an average of 6.9 assists per 36 minutes between his first and second seasons, but trimmed his turnovers from 4.3 to 3.6.
Henderson even shot 46.9 percent on two-point field goals in 2024-25, which may not be ideal but is still a significant improvement from 41.6 percent in 2023-24.
Henderson has also addressed some degree of the defensive concerns he's been presented with. Though not necessarily a plus defender, he ranked in the 83rd percentile in passing lane defense and the 67th percentile in off-ball chaser defense, per Basketball Index, in 2024-25.
Per Jason Quick of The Athletic, acting Trail Blazers head coach Thiago Splitter cited defensive intensity as one of the more impressive elements of Henderson's 2025-26 debut.
“He was impressive on defense. He brought energy, he pushed the pace, made some shots,” acting coach Tiago Splitter said. “Still was room for improvement, but just good to see him competing.”
If Henderson can continue the trend of improving on defense, shooting more efficiently, and taking care of the ball, the Trail Blazers may very well have their point guard of the future.