Scoot Henderson hasn’t lived up to the hype so far in his young career. When the Trail Blazers drafted him third overall in 2023, they were supposed to be getting a sure-fire star, the next great point guard. CBS Sports gave the pick an A grade, saying it was the “easiest pick in the draft” and “the Blazers nailed it.” But, since arriving in Portland, Henderson has struggled much more than expected, raising questions about how high his ceiling truly is.
Since returning from injury this season, Henderson is showing he can still become a star, and he’s doing it in a surprising way. Scoot has taken leaps and bounds on the defensive end, opening up a new runway for him to take off as a player.
Scoot Henderson is becoming elite on defense
After the Blazers beat the Suns on February 22nd, Phoenix head coach Jordan Ott had high praise for Henderson, naming him as one of Portland’s elite on-ball defenders. Ott’s shoutout only confirmed what Blazer fans have already been seeing from Scoot this season.
Henderson is making a bigger impact than ever before on the defensive end. He’s buying into the culture this team is working to establish. The 22-year-old is pressuring ball handlers, making keen rotations and fighting through screens at a solid level. The athletic tools that made him such an enticing prospect are certainly helping him out, as his quickness and flexibility allow him to stick with his man with ease. But he’s also showing a lot of heart and effort, which has been most important to his improvement.
The stats are still catching up to this new revelation. Henderson grades out in the 65th percentile of the BBall Index’s D-LEBRON metric, falling in just the 24th percentile as a perimeter isolation defender. But, given he’s only played six games, those numbers will surely get better if he sustains this level of defense over a larger sample.
Defense can help Henderson achieve stardom
Becoming a star in the NBA is incredibly tough for guys who only play one side of the ball. Only the truly elite scorers (Jalen Brunson, for example) and stoppers (Rudy Gobert) have reached All-NBA heights while being effective negatives on one end of the floor.
Henderson hasn’t quite looked like a superstar offensive engine in the making, so his defensive growth will be huge in setting him up for the type of long-term success scouts anticipated from him. He can follow the trail blazed by his teammate, Jrue Holiday, molding himself as a two-way stalwart.
Scoot could already pressure the rim and make plays for his teammates very well. Now, he can guard, too. Adding a more consistent jumper would be the last Infinity Stone in his gauntlet. Henderson is now in a better position than ever to reach his full potential, and it’s all thanks to the work he’s put in on the defensive end.