The Portland Trail Blazers were just one ping-pong ball away from winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes in 2023. Instead, they wound up landing the No. 3 overall pick. At the time, that still appeared to be a prime draft position. It was widely viewed as being inside the second-tier, with Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson as the 2a and 2b prospects.
The idea was that Portland would take whoever was remaining after the Charlotte Hornets' selection, still coming away with a consolation prize intriguing enough to be considered a building block. In retrospect, the draft debate should've been between Brandon Miller and Amen Thompson, not Scoot Henderson.
Blazers made franchise-altering mistake passing on Amen Thompson
Thompson fell to the No. 4 overall pick by the Houston Rockets, which is proving to be a steal as he's already emerged as a rising star in Year 3.
One disappointing realization Portland quickly made about Hederson was that he wasn't as elite an athlete as many expected. That, combined with questionable decision-making, inefficient finishing at the rim, and poor defense, resulted in a historically bad rookie season.
Meanwhile, Thompson immediately proved to be a top-tier athlete. Amen was everything the Blazers were hoping Scoot would be, only the difference was even more drastic given his positional size at 6-foot-7. That rare combination allowed him to make an immediate two-way impact as one of the best defensive guards in the league.
Offensively, Thompson is developing at a rapid rate. This season, he's averaging 18.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.2 steals on 51/20/81 shooting splits. Shooting is the one glaring weakness in his game, and the one area where Henderson clearly has an advantage over him. Scoot's also been improving that aspect of his game, shooting a respectable 35.4% from beyond the arc last season. But that's also a scary thought for the rest of the league in terms of Thompson's ceiling. If he can become an even league-average shooter, he's going to be an All-Star-level player for years to come.
To make matters worse, the Blazers don't even know if they have a starting-level point guard on their hands. Henderson has taken strides towards becoming that, improving major weaknesses in his game. This was going to be a pivotal season for him to try to take the keys to the backcourt with Anfernee Simons now in Boston. Unfortunately, all that momentum was derailed by an untimely hamstring injury. That injury has lingered into 2026, with the Blazers set to reevaluate their guard next week.
Hopefully, Scoot returns soon, continuing his upward career trajectory. It's essential to stress patience as he's 21 years old, still adjusting to the NBA while playing the most challenging position. But there are many unknowns surrounding Henderson and the Blazers' point guard situation going forward. Having a rising star in Thompson would've done wonders for their rebuild, giving them a legitimate contender ceiling.
This is a draft decision that's unfortunately going to haunt Portland for years to come, and will only get more painful the better Thompson gets.