Portland Trail Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson has experienced a polarizing start to his NBA career. Selected at No. 3 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, Henderson's otherworldly potential has been on display, but his inefficient shooting has many questioning if he can live up to the hype.
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has no such concerns—and believes that a healthy offseason is all Henderson has needed to make the leap.
Henderson played 62 games during his rookie season. Unfortunately, a sprained ankle and a bone bruise in November of his first year in the NBA marked the beginning of a campaign that later included quadricep, foot, abductor, and hip injuries. He inevitably spent his first offseason recovering from the damage.
During a recent interview on ESPN's Summer League broadcast, Billups stated that Henderson is finally experiencing a healthy offseason after having better fortune in 2024-25. As such, Portland's head coach is projecting a massive leap forward in 2025-26.
"Scoot’s having an incredible summer. He had a tough year last year, only because he didn’t get to play basketball last summer. He was banged up, he was licking his wounds from the season. This year, he’s been playing ball all summer, he's been working on his game. He's going to take an incredible leap this year. I really, really believe Scoot’s going to take a big-time jump this year."
Billups may be biased as Henderson's head coach, but it's still a significant proclamation from an individual who knows what it takes to thrive as a point guard in the NBA.
Chauncey Billups believes a healthy offseason will help Scoot Henderson make the leap
Henderson made undeniable progress from the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 campaign. He improved his field goal percentage by 3.4 percent and his three-point shooting by 2.9 percent, and averaged 0.7 fewer turnovers per 36 minutes.
Henderson did so while averaging just 0.6 fewer points and posting an identical assists average on a per-36-minute basis—suggesting his improvement is sustainable.
Furthermore, Henderson turned a corner during the second half of the regular season—just as Portland did the same. The Trail Blazers were 13-28 through 41 games, with Henderson averaging 12.2 points while shooting 34.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Portland went 23-18 the rest of the way and Henderson averaged 13.2 points while burying 35.7 percent of his three-point field goals.
Beyond the numbers, Henderson seemed to play with more poise and confidence as the season progressed. He worked without the ball to find openings in the defense and rose up for jump shots without second-guessing himself as much.
That translated to Henderson burying 36.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes and 34.6 percent of his pull-ups during the 2024-25 season—up from 30.5 and 33.3 percent in 2023-24.
Henderson also showcased the ability to pull up from midrange and punish loose defenses. It's all still a work in progress, but he's developing his abilities as a three-level scorer and has greatly improved his decision-making—and now he has a healthy offseason to refine his skill set.
Billups envisions big things for the former top-five draft pick, and Henderson has the tools at his disposal to make good on that projection.