Portland Trail Blazers Scoot Henderson on His NBA All-Star Experience and Personal Style

There’s a first time for everything, and for Portland Trail Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson, this past All-Star Weekend in Indiana was the first in what he hopes will be many to come in the future. In case a reminder is needed on how this season has gone so far for the newly turned 20-year-old, Henderson is currently averaging 12.9 ppg, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game at the moment. This, of course, follows Henderson’s unique path to the NBA which saw the then 17-year-old five star recruit graduating early from Carlton J. Kell High School in Marietta, GA to become the youngest player in NBA G-League history upon signing with the NBA G League Ignite.

After two successful seasons with the Ignite squad, Henderson was selected as the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers which leads us to the present—a selection to the NBA Panini Rising Stars.

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“It’s a learning experience for sure… you know this is my first year so it’s been different,” Henderson tells ONE37pm the day after scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. He shares: “Going into the Rising Stars Game it felt different… it was a different mentality.”

Henderson was also a representative of STARRY, the official soft drink for the NBA, during the weekend which kept him busy as well. “My first thought was to check out the 3-Point contest because my sister (Crystal Henderson) is such a great three-point shooter, and it reminds me of us being back at home doing shooting contests with our dad cheering us on.”

While Henderson and I are chatting virtually, I can’t help but to conduct a little on the spot fit check as Henderson is rocking a slightly oversized pair of black frames that instantly catch your attention. As it turns out, Scoot and his other sister China have fashion in common too “Sooner or later, my sister and I are going to have a brand,” he says. While what they’re working on is confidential for now, Henderson adds, “My sister China has been my stylist for the last three years—she's actually been my stylist for a lot of the events that I’ve gone to, and she’s very fashionable herself. She helps me out a lot—she’s been very helpful with every shoe that I’ve come out with so far. You’ll be seeing it in the future!”

Darn, so we have to wait. While we don’t get the deets now, Henderson does share a bit about what goes into his daily style. “My style is real chill and I like to make sure I’m comfortable," he says. "Sometimes I like oversized and sometimes I like a little crop—it depends on how I’m feeling at the moment."

Henderson also names the soon-to-be-announced brand he has with his sister along with PUMA (whom Henderson is signed to) as his favorites along with a couple others. “PUMA has always been very helpful in the process that I’ve been going through," he says. "We’re partners and we’re a collective, and it’s been fun working with them.”

At this point in our convo, I decide to share with Henderson that I too once played basketball. If not for anything else, it breaks the ice even more and pivots the discussion back to basketball. Allen Iverson, Henderson tells me, is one of the players he looked up to the most coming up along with a couple others. “I also looked up to Russell Westbrook growing up—I would watch a lot of his highlights. I also watched a lot of AND1 mixtapes too. Growing up though, basketball was my secondary sport because I mostly played football,” explains Scoot—which was true of AI as well.

And as for how Scoot would personally describe his game, he says, "I'm a very edgy player. I like to pick up 94 ft, so that tells you right there what type of player I am on the defensive end. On the offensive end I’m a very unselfish point guard… I look for my teammates, but I’m also explosive. I can shoot the ball from the mid-range and I’m very vocal.”

Henderson also has some advice to share for the young kids who look up to him. “Remain true to yourself," he says. "Keep the man above with you always and continue to pray. Believe in yourself and be confident. ‘Overly Determined to Dominate’ is my motto, and I really believe in that—not just with basketball but with anything you do in life.”

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