Blazers guard Scoot Henderson says commitment to his faith has brought peace amid stressful expectations.
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PORTLAND, Ore. – Scoot Henderson knew the storm was waiting for him Friday night. For the better part of three seasons he has lived through the winds of doubt, and questions that swirl around him like rain.
He was the third overall pick in 2023, the kind of pick that is supposed to change a franchise, but in his first two seasons the only change the point guard initiated was the hurried exodus of the franchise’s greatest player, Damian Lillard. Henderson had yet to solidify himself as a starter, yet to establish himself as a sure thing for a contract extension, yet to convince anyone that he was a building block for the future of this franchise.
On Friday, there was an added element to the tempest: After being sidelined with a hamstring injury for the season’s first 51 games, all the doubts, all the questions, all the expectations would be raging — a perfect storm of pent-up frustration from a home crowd that doesn’t know if he should be lionized, or thrown to the lions.
So how did the 22-year-old prepare to face the storm?
Sixty minutes before tip off, he went to a makeshift chapel in the Moda Center and prayed.
“It brings me to a silent place in my head,” Henderson said. “It brings me back to what I believe in, and that’s the Man above. Chapel … gives me a calm before the storm.”
By the end of Friday, Henderson was the storm. In 21 minutes off the bench, he had 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Trail Blazers ended a six-game losing streak with a 135-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. When Henderson was on the court, the Blazers outscored Memphis by 19.
“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.”
There will be plenty of time in the next 30 games to decipher just how much Henderson has grown in his third year. In a season that has largely been a win for the Blazers (24-28), the biggest loss has been the inability to see what, and how much, Henderson improved. He tore his hamstring in a pickup game the week before training camp. He said he initially thought he was just cramping in his thigh, and kept playing. But when the feeling returned, he reported to the trainer. That “cramp” ended up costing him four months.
But an interesting thing happened while Henderson recovered: He recommitted to his faith. He says he has long been spiritual, and a devoted Christian. But those around him say they noticed a change this fall and winter. In previous years, Henderson would sporadically attend the pregame chapel sessions 60 minutes before tipoff. Now, Henderson estimates he has attended 80-85 percent of the sessions.
The tightest bond with Henderson among the Blazers is found with assistant coach Pooh Jeter, who was also Henderson’s teammate when Henderson was 17 with the G League Ignite. When asked if there was a defining moment during Henderson’s four-month recovery, or if there was a notable change in Henderson, Jeter didn’t hesitate to answer.
“He is back in chapel; he isn’t missing a beat,” Jeter said. “I just think it has really helped him during this moment. I’m not saying he is thinking, or asking God, ‘Why?’ … but I think he is trying to get a clear understanding of who he is … where he is … while building his relationship with God. And I can see it in his actions, because whatever is going on around him on the outside I can see he is finding peace.”
Henderson turned 22 on Tuesday, and his special day was greeted by a telephone call from his home state of Georgia. It was his grandmother, Essie, whom his family calls “Mom,” and she delivered a divine message.
“It was my first call on my birthday,” Henderson said. “And she said: ‘He wakes you up every day, and He gives you the energy to do everything you are capable of.’”
When Henderson took the postgame podium and addressed the media, he nearly recited his grandmother’s message word for word.
“Like I keep saying, I’m blessed to be where I’m at right now. He wakes me up every day to give me the strength to move on,” Henderson said.
How Henderson navigates this season — and beyond — is a sensitive subject around the Blazers.
Internally, he is so well-liked — his care factor is off the charts, he is polite and considerate, and he puts his teammates before himself. But externally, he is so scrutinized, so questioned, and so debated that it creates those winds and rains that form the storm around him.
The juxtaposition between those forces — both internal and external — has created a tense narrative around Henderson: Is he the franchise point guard … or do the Blazers need to admit a mistake and move on? It’s a debate that figures to intensify and vacillate throughout the season’s final 30 games, and it’s a debate with which Splitter is not willing to engage.
“I deal with reality, not expectation,” Splitter said. “And the reality is, I’m trying to get him better. So I don’t care what people’s expectations are. I care who Scoot is as a person, and how to make him a better player.”
Henderson has been up front in acknowledging that during his two-plus seasons in Portland he hears the doubts, he sees the questions … and he admits he thinks, and re-thinks, about it all. If he had to pick out a flaw in his makeup, he would say he at times overthinks.
But he also believes that his strengths outweigh anything that threatens to weaken him. His physique is more like a linebacker than a point guard, yet he remains twitch-quick in his moves. Those around the Blazers say he has exceptional work ethic. And he shows he is team-first both in how he plays and how he pulls for his teammates.
Above all, he loves the game. Lives for it.
He said the hardest part about his four-month recovery was “missing out on the game that I love.” When asked about the moments in Friday’s game that filled that void, the moments that restored that love, he didn’t mention his two 3-pointers, or his driving dunk or one of his nine assists. He brought up the collisions, the scraps, the fighting for loose balls.
“The physicality of it, the getting a stop … getting a steal,” Henderson said. “But there is also finding an open guy at the right moment, and just making plays … basketball is really beautiful when you play it right. When you can find that beauty at a consistent pace, at a high level … man, it’s a beautiful sport. I love it.”
Jeter said he believes the pregame chapel sessions, and Henderson’s faith, have served as an anchor for Henderson amid the storm that rages around him.
They are 20 years apart — Henderson is 22 and Jeter 42 — but they formed a bond as teammates and apartment neighbors during their time with the Ignite. Both are voracious readers. Both felt drawn toward laughter and love more than the pull of negativity and hate. And both embraced faith as a tenet.
“I used to always ask him before, ‘Hey man, when you going to get back to going to chapel?’” Jeter said. “And something switched in him to consistently start going back this year.”
Henderson says it wasn’t a conscious decision to increase his attendance this season. Sure, his injury limited his pregame options and responsibilities, giving him time to visit chapel. But he said he believes he was influenced by a stronger force.
“I just feel like He’s dragging me towards Him,” Henderson said. “And I’m not going to deny it. I’m gonna accept it, and I’m gonna take His word for it, and trust Him. I think it just keeps me grounded.”
Meanwhile, all the forces outside of him seem to be trying to uproot Henderson. If people aren’t questioning his shooting ability, they are wondering why a hamstring injury took four months to heal. And if they aren’t doubting his ball security, they are pointing to the heights his peers like Brandon Miller and Amen Thompson have reached.
When all those forces rage, Henderson says he soaks in the storm, and then releases it.
“I give it to the man above,” Henderson said. “All the worrying, all the second-guessing, all the eyes … I make sure they go right to the man above. And it shuts all of them up.”
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Jason Quick is a senior writer for The Athletic. Based in Portland, he writes about personalties and trends of the NBA, with a focus on human connections. He has been named Oregon sportswriter of the year four times and has won awards from APSE, SPJ, and Pro Basketball Writers Association. Follow Jason on Twitter @jwquick
