Ignite star Scoot Henderson forged his own path to NBA

Editor's note: This profile was published in advance of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Scoot Henderson lives by a motto: "O.D.D.: Overly Determined to Dominate."

The acronym is featured on Henderson's new sneaker collaboration with Puma and spelled out in its entirety on the wall of his family's Next Play 360 gym, where the young point guard spent countless hours working on his craft.

"O.D.D." is a mantra created by Henderson himself. It represents his unorthodox NBA journey as well as the Georgia native's day-to-day approach to life both on and off the court.

Prior to signing a historic two-year, $1-million deal with the G League Ignite, Henderson was a consensus five-star recruit with offers from the likes of Kansas, Auburn, and Georgia. He became Kell High School's all-time leading scorer during his junior year in 2020-21. The teenager averaged 32 points, seven boards, and six assists that season, earning the state's Class 6A Player of the Year award.

Henderson was simultaneously ahead of the curve academically. He doubled his coursework in order to graduate a year early and finished high school with a grade point average of 3.5.

"He took (school) seriously," recalls Henderson's high school coach Jermaine Sellers. "If you ask some teachers, they didn't realize how talented he was on the court because he would just come in and handle his business in the classroom. Wasn't a disruption. Real focused. Wanted to learn."

G League Ignite player development coach Thomas Scott saw that same hunger in Henderson when the latter joined the program in May 2021.

At just 17, Henderson was the youngest professional basketball player in American history at the time. But he showed maturity beyond his years from the get-go.

Henderson was receptive to any pointers that could help enhance his game and was often the first person on the court. If the team bus was leaving for the practice facility at a certain time, he'd sometimes drive 30 minutes early and be drenched in sweat before his teammates arrived.

Prior to coaches' meetings and games, Scott remembers walking in and seeing Henderson performing his own drills and rebounding for himself.

"You could tell that basketball was on his mind before he went to bed," Scott told theScore. "I think that says a lot about somebody that young or any kind of ball player."

Henderson primarily came off the bench during his first season with the Ignite, playing behind future first-round picks Dyson Daniels and MarJon Beauchamp. In only his second G League contest, Henderson went off for 31 points, six boards, five assists, and three steals. Two nights later, he finished two dimes short of his first career triple-double.

Despite starting the 2021-22 campaign strong, Henderson went through his share of growing pains, just like any other young player transitioning to the pros. Henderson averaged 7.8 points on 26.8% shooting over a five-game stretch during the Showcase Cup. During that same span, he went 1-of-8 from deep and had an eight-turnover game.

Henderson was facing defensive coverages he had never seen before and didn't know how to counter them. After dominating the competition for years, Henderson was finally on the wrong end of things.

Instead of benching Henderson, the Ignite coaching staff allowed him to play through his struggles while helping iron out the finer details of his game. They worked on keeping Henderson's dribble alive, how to attack certain angles, making the right passes, reading the defense, and floor positioning.

Henderson turned things around in the second half of his debut season, registering a pair of 10-assist games and scoring at least double digits in eight of his final 10 appearances. His bounce-back effort is a testament to Ignite head coach Jason Hart, whose European-style program heavily emphasizes skill development and fundamentals.

"Guys get scouted at some point. And sometimes you have habits that the film shows and (opposing) defenses try to expose," Scott said. "I think it did frustrate him a little bit, and that's okay.

"What's awesome about our program is ... they make those mistakes here and don't have to make them twice in the NBA. I think that was a major part of his growth because you have to go through some adversity."

Henderson stuck to the grind that summer as he prepared to take over as the Ignite's primary creator. However, that wasn't the only thing keeping him motivated as he entered the 2022-23 campaign.

The Ignite were also hosting French club Metropolitans 92 for a pair of preseason tilts, meaning that Henderson would square off against fellow phenom Victor Wembanyama.

Over the last few years, they've been labeled as the top prospects in the 2023 draft class, but Wembanyama has undoubtedly received more attention.

The exhibition was a chance for Henderson to show he was equally deserving of the spotlight, and he didn't disappoint.

Henderson came out firing with nine of his team's first 13 points, including a step-back three over the Frenchman's outstretched arms. He was both fearless and smart when driving to the basket, going into Wembanyama's body whenever he penetrated the paint and recognizing when to pull up for a mid-range jumper instead.

Henderson looked comfortable as a lead facilitator as well, making several high-level passing reads. He delivered pocket passes in stride to his teammates, found open shooters coming off the pick-and-roll, and dumped off dimes in the dunker's spot after luring defenders away from the rim.

The American showcased everything he had worked on during the offseason in front of approximately 200 NBA executives and scouts.

Henderson finished with 28 points, nine assists, five boards, and two steals in 31 minutes as the Ignite prevailed 122-115. While a knee injury limited Henderson's action in the next matchup against Metropolitans 92, his electric performance two days prior still had the basketball world abuzz.

"I still believe (Scoot) believes he's the No. 1 pick. I still believe he could be that," Scott said. "I understand how special Wemby is, but that's Scoot. I think that's what he wanted to prove when we played against them ... He's got that dog in him like that. It's not a fluke. That's just who Scoot is."

Henderson carried that momentum into his final year with the Ignite, posting 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, 5.1 boards, and 1.2 steals per contest over 25 appearances. He shot 44.4% from the field overall, drained 32.4% of his 3-point attempts, and converted 75% of his free-throw attempts.

Henderson recorded twice as many assists than turnovers and improved across the board in various categories, including assist percentage and points in the paint per game.

Although there are still concerns about Henderson's perimeter game, his mechanics looked cleaner, and he made enough jumpers to keep defenses from completely selling out against the drive. Henderson shot 38% from the mid-range and hit 41.6% of his pull-ups.

The numbers he produced not only came against players years his senior but also amid a rigorous schedule that featured back-to-back sets.

Scott believes that shouldn't be overlooked when NBA teams are assessing Henderson and the rest of the Ignite prospects.

"We don't have a game where you're just going against a mid-major or a small school where you can get your stats all the way up," Scott said. "We're playing pros that are trying to get back to the league every night, and they're holding their own.

"I think it takes a mentally tough kid that's willing to go through the grind and get back up every time they get knocked down. So I think that's really built in his DNA."

Barring a trade, Henderson's likely to be taken No. 2 overall by the Charlotte Hornets or with the next pick by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Both teams already boast ball-dominant floor generals in LaMelo Ball and Damian Lillard, but Sellers doesn't see why Henderson can't co-exist with either.

"There were times where I wish he had been more (ball)-dominant," Sellers chuckles. "He was always a team player. Just wanted to get his teammates involved ... He plays the game the right way.

"He studies the game. He understands the game. He's not a selfish player at all. Never has been. I don't think that'll be an issue. I think he'll be more excited to learn and grow with LaMelo or Dame."

Henderson's selflessness isn't only a reflection of his style of play but also the person he's become off the court.

Henderson constantly talks up his younger sister Moochie, who was a top-five recruit in Georgia before committing to Georgia State last month. He's helped plan food drives for underprivileged families and launched his own elite youth basketball program - which features both a boys and a girls team - in his local community.

When Henderson was being recruited by colleges, he wanted his teammates to be part of his workouts, even though schools were coming to see him.

Sellers remembers traveling with his team on a charter bus for a basketball tournament during Henderson's sophomore year. Before his players got off the bus, he reminded them to pick up their trash.

Not too many of them listened, except for Henderson, who stayed behind with his coach to clean up their mess.

"His character is what I'm most impressed with ... When you get kids that talented, they can be arrogant. They can be assholes sometimes," Sellers said. "But he's always thinking of others, and I don't think he'll change.

"I think that's just who he is, and kudos to his family for instilling those values in him. ... Whoever gets him is getting a gem and a generational-type player."