Draft day is when basketball players from around the globe can realize their dream of playing in the NBA, not to mention achieving the type of financial security that eludes almost all people.
Scoot Henderson has already made a good amount of money playing in the G League over the last two seasons, but he is now a big-leaguer after the Portland Trail Blazers made him the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday.
The moment when the Blazers called him and told him he was their choice was captured on video, and it was a happy moment for the Georgia native.
a special, special moment ❤️ pic.twitter.com/MRLi16igpG
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 23, 2023
Although he is just 6-foot-2, Henderson is thought to have immense potential as a future star in the NBA.
He averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists a game this past season for the G League Ignite, but those numbers are just part of the story.
Henderson is an outstanding athlete, and he also reportedly has a 6-foot-9 wingspan, which is very, very elite for someone of his height.
In fact, his athleticism and explosiveness have been compared to that of Russell Westbrook and Ja Morant, who are arguably the two most athletically gifted point guards of all time.
The question is whether his arrival is a prelude to a possible Damian Lillard trade a little later this summer.
Lillard has been languishing on some bad and mediocre Blazers teams for almost his entire career, and the team almost certainly won’t be able to give him a real shot at an NBA championship anytime soon.
The time may be now for Portland to start over and build around Henderson and Anfernee Simons.
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