Scoot Henderson quieted his mind, and Blazers guard's game got louder

New York Times

19-02-2025

PORTLAND, Ore. — Scoot Henderson has a mind that races. When it comes to basketball, he thinks. And then he rethinks. And then he thinks about how much he is thinking. So on the nights he leaves home to play for the Trail Blazers, the point guard has developed a routine of visiting the deck of his 22nd-story apartment in downtown Portland.
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'I sit down on my balcony and look out at the city,' Henderson said. 'It calms me down.'
Below is the football field at Lincoln High, and to the north and east are the lofts and high rises of the Pearl District. As he sits on his balcony he wears a necklace device that delivers electrical impulses to the vagus nerve. The stimulation is designed to help with anxiety, sleep, pain and stress.
'It's for anxiety, but I don't really have that,' he said. 'But I be thinking a lot. So I put it in my head that the (device) pulls all my thoughts out and lets them go.'
He started the balcony sessions in December after he received the device as a gift from his mom, and coincidentally, his season and career have taken on a new trajectory.
In 27 games since Dec. 21, Henderson is averaging 13.7 points, 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range.
The whispers about him being a bust have quieted. And the urgency for the Blazers to find a point guard to lead their rebuild has eased.
Some of Henderson's emergence is a credit to the Blazers' player development. John Townsend, a shooting consultant hired by the team, has changed Henderson's shot. Assistants Chris Fleming and Pooh Jeter have ongoing film sessions with Henderson to show what is a good shot and how to defend better, as well as drills to help him finish better at the rim. Meanwhile, coach Chauncey Billups has held him accountable, threatening during a December meeting to take away his playing time if he didn't defend better.
'It takes a village,' Jeter said.
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But above all, Henderson's uptick in play can be traced to the slowing of his racing mind, and those anxious thoughts being released. Henderson has always had the power, speed and explosion. But since he has been in the NBA, he's never had this peace of mind.
'The thing I'm most proud about is me not thinking,' Henderson said. 'I feel like I was thinking I wasn't thinking, but I was thinking so much to where I was thinking. You can't hide the fact you were thinking.'
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He thought about his rookie season, when he struggled with shooting and ball security. And he thought about the start of this season, when he had stretches of costly turnovers, poor decisions and shaky shots.
It wasn't the trajectory anybody — especially Henderson — thought would unfold after he was drafted third in 2023. On draft night, general manager Joe Cronin said Henderson had the chance to be 'transcendent.' And after watching him in Summer League, Billups spoke of Henderson having 'super powers.'
But as autumn turned to winter this season, whispers turned into winds: Was Henderson a bust?
'I mean, everybody … I think (bust) came across their mind at some point,' Billups said. 'Not me. Not our staff. Because we live with him. We see the inside. We see what's inside of him.'
What made his struggles worse was how badly Henderson wanted to succeed. He worked so hard, cared so much and prepared so thoroughly that he couldn't understand why it all wasn't translating to the court.
'That's the thing, man, people don't know what I've really been thinking about,' Henderson said. 'I wanted to be great so fast and I wanted to make an impact so badly … but that can hurt you. It can make you force.'
So he started taking refuge on his deck, letting all those bad thoughts, all those anxious desires flow through him and out into the Rose City. He does quick breaths on the deck and finds his center.
'I've realized, I just need to play,' Henderson said. 'Just hoop. Just do this. That's what I think when I sit and look down on the city: Just hoop. You've been doing this your whole life. This is nothing new. Stay confident.'
He talks to himself regularly — be it on the court, on the bench or on the balcony — often referring to himself in the first person. They are bursts of criticism, reminders or pep talks.
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His favorite reminder of late, one he used before a January home game as he overlooked the city from his balcony:
'I do this s—.'
It was Sept. 14 when Trail Blazers veteran Jerami Grant texted Townsend, his shooting coach.
'I'm going to have Scoot work with you when you are out here,' Grant wrote Townsend.
'Is he a good kid?' Townsend asked.
'Yeah,' Grant responded. 'You will like him.'
Townsend, who lives in Miami Beach, began studying Henderson's build and game film. By the time he was on his flight to Portland on Sept. 15, he had some ideas on how to better Henderson's shot.
Much like Grant, the 6-foot-3 Henderson has an abnormally long wingspan at 6 feet 10 inches. Townsend said players with long wingspans often release their shot in front of their face, which restricts their follow through. He teaches players to position the ball to the side of their head, with their elbow and forearm at a 90-degree angle.
'He knows what he is doing,' said Grant, who first hired Townsend in 2020.
Townsend has been working with professional players since 2002, when he spent five years as the shooting coach in the National Basketball Development League (now the G League). In 2007, he was hired by the Blazers, spending three seasons in Portland. Later he spent three seasons with Toronto, three with Memphis and three with Philadelphia.
Since 2019, he has worked individually with Grant, Kyle Lowry, Cade Cunningham, Gary Harris, Jarred Vanderbilt and Precious Achiuwa.
On Sept. 16, Henderson showed up to Grant's shooting session at Portland State University and watched his 90-minute workout.
'You know JG … he was hitting like 100 shots in a row, one after the other,' Henderson said. 'I was like, 'Damn, I gotta get like that.''
When Henderson's session started, he said Townsend immediately set himself apart by ignoring his feet and focusing solely on his right elbow. Similar to Grant, he wanted Henderson to move his shot to the side with the 90-degree form. To remember the form and the placement, Townsend used 'handshake to the side' of the head terminology.
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'Most trainers start with the feet, but JT was like, there's nothing wrong with your feet, you're balanced,' Henderson said.
They worked on getting the elbow placement correct and on fully extending his reach during his follow through. Henderson started making shot after shot after shot.
'It felt like … different,' Henderson said. 'I could always hit shots, but this just felt better. It felt like it fit me. It fit my archetype, fit how I play. So when I get a handshake to the side and go 90 degrees, it's easy for me to follow through. That's where I had a problem before — I would short-arm it.'
By October, Cronin hired Townsend as a consultant. He now flies in from Florida and works with all the Blazers when they have an extended homestand. Townsend said his work with Henderson is now more support than technical adjustments.
'Of all the hundreds of NBA players I've worked with, Scoot has shown me the best ability to coach himself of any player I've had,' Townsend said.
It's why Henderson can often be seen talking to himself and mimicking the 'handshake to the side' during his pregame warmups.
'If you see me doing this (he brings his hand up toward his ear) in pregame warm-up, that's what I'm doing,' Henderson said. 'It's really helped. Now, I don't even have to see the ball go through the rim, I can just feel it. If I'm 90 and handshake to the side, I know it's got a good chance of going in.'
Since Dec. 21, Henderson has made 51 of 123 from 3-point range (41.5 percent), tied for the 11th-best percentage in the NBA during that span (120 attempts or more). For the season, Henderson is shooting 36.5 percent from 3, up 4 percent from his rookie season.
While Townsend adjusted Henderson's shot, the Blazers' assistants have worked with his approach. Fleming, who joined Billups' staff this season after the past four seasons with Chicago, has been working with Henderson on shot selection — in particular, eliminating the stepback 3. Fleming said most teams are starting to go 'under' the pick when guarding Henderson to protect against his explosive drives. That leaves Henderson space to shoot.
'On the unders, when he comes into the shot, he shoots it at 39 percent, which is a really high rate,' Fleming said. 'So we are trying to get him to stay away from the step-back and when teams do go under, having him step into those in rhythm.'
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Jeter, who has been with Henderson the past four years, including two as a teammate with the G League Ignite, has been his closest confidant. They decompress after every game, talking about what went right, where things got sideways. It's Henderson's chance to vent and release the thoughts in his racing mind.
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The most notable session came after the Jan. 11 home game against Miami. Henderson in 21 minutes had three points and three assists and shot 1 of 6. On the bench during the game, Henderson was talking aloud to himself. And it was R-rated.
'I didn't like my role in that game, but it was more of a self thing,' Henderson said. 'I was not being aggressive enough on offense, I was coasting, and that's never been a part of me.'
Jeter had witnessed Henderson's angry outbursts before. But nothing was like this.
'He gets upset at himself, but I've never seen that part of him,' Jeter said. 'He was cussing himself out on the bench, and I was like 'Ooooooh-weee!''
In their postgame meeting, Jeter told Henderson that in order to gain wisdom, he had to go through tough experiences. Jeter said after that night, something clicked.
'He got sick of that feeling he had in the Miami game,' Jeter said. 'He has this confidence in himself, and he puts in the reps, so I think it's just everything coming together at the same time. He's really believing and trusting in the work he's put in.'
None of the assistants nor Billups tried to take credit for Henderson's emergence. They all said he has always had the ability, he has always had the work ethic and he has always been a sponge to coaching. It was just a matter of time before the game — and his mind — slowed down.
'If a player is good, it's because they are really good,' Townsend said. 'As coaches, we can just nudge them.'
Added Fleming: 'His obsession with getting better has been pretty impressive. His improvement is every bit driven by him. He had a lot of negativity surrounding his rookie season, and the start of this season wasn't super easy for him, but he has never wavered in terms of his approach. He never got down on himself and he has always believed in himself.'
On Feb. 3, Henderson turned 21, and he celebrated by amassing 15 points and six assists in an overtime win over Phoenix.
The performance came on the heels of an impressive January, which included a career-high 39 points against Brooklyn, when he made 8 of 10 3-pointers. He also had notable games of 21 points and 11 assists against Houston and 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against Chicago.
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When he arrived in Portland as a 19-year-old, he was aglow with confidence and swagger. It wasn't long into his rookie season, however, when his smile had faded and his moxy became muted.
'It was a humbling year for him,' Billups said. 'He didn't realize how hard it is to be good in the NBA and to do it every night. He'd have a good game, but then, dang, here comes DeAaron Fox tomorrow. Here comes Steph Curry on Thursday, then on to Trae Young. That's one of the big surprises for a young guy.'
Henderson said never in his rookie season did he question whether he could succeed in the NBA. He was just frustrated with why it wasn't happening quickly.
'I'm blessed with the talent, and I did all the work, but I didn't have anything to show for it,' Henderson said. 'That's where I was disappointed.'
The coaches could see a talented kid who cared, but who also was thinking too hard.
'He's a cerebral kid,' Fleming said. 'And when you watch film with him, you can see it — he's got great ideas, so you know he's been thinking about stuff as we rewatch games. And at times, he was wearing that.'
It showed with impatience on the court — forcing a pass, rushing a shot, letting a mistake carry over to the defensive end. But Billups said he never saw Henderson defeated.
'He had some tough times last year, and his confidence would go up and down, but his spirit never did,' Billups said. 'And one thing, he was a constant team guy. Whether he was playing good or bad, he was always happy and pulling for whoever was out there balling. That's not always the case in our league. It's that spirit … it's why he's going to be a great leader.'
On the night of his birthday, which resulted in the Blazers' fourth straight win during a stretch when they would win 10 of 11, Henderson was the last player to leave the Moda Center. He stopped by the family room and mingled with Billups' family and other staffers, then walked down the hallway to the parking garage, alone.
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There was less than an hour left in his first day as a 21-year-old, and he headed back to his 22nd-floor apartment, where he could overlook the city. Day by day, game by game, his outlook is getting better. Calmer.
'I get grounded, and feel my feet all the way up to the top of my head,' Henderson said.
Of late, Portland has been dusted with snow and frigid temperatures — way too cold for his Marietta, Ga., blood — so the balcony sessions have been limited. But the winter chill won't stop his dreams or his drive.
'I owe this city,' Henderson said. 'They show so much love. So I owe it to them to try my hardest to be great. I know it has been tough for them, especially last year when we were losing games. But they don't understand what is going on in the back. We are working. I am working. And I want to be one of the most entertaining players to watch, and our group to be one of the most entertaining to watch. Portland seems like a great city to do it in.'
(Top photo of Scoot Henderson: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)