The Portland Trail Blazers certainly made the right pick when they selected Scoot Henderson with the third overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. Not only was the best prospect available, he also provided the team some insurance in the event that Damian Lillard wanted out. That came to fruition, essentially giving Henderson the opportunity to begin his career as the Blazers’ starting point guard.
However, Henderson hasn’t exactly delivered on the hype on a consistent basis, and his latest performance for the Blazers in their putrid 139-77 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night goes to show that the young point guard has a long way to go in his development as an NBA star. He made just four of his 21 shot attempts on the night, going 1-9 from deep and 4-6 from the foul line while turning the ball over thrice.
But that horrendous inefficiency isn’t what stood out for Scoot Henderson. It’s the manner in which the Thunder dominated the Blazers during his minutes on the court. He put up an astounding plus-minus of minus-56 in 31 minutes of play; those 31 minutes also came in just three quarters as Chauncey Billups clearly saw enough and took the 19-year old point guard off the floor for the entire final frame.
Of course, it’s important to point out that single game plus-minus is not indicative of a player’s talent level or their impact on the floor for the long-term. It just shows that Henderson was there for most of the minutes where the Thunder dominated the Blazers, which isn’t entirely his fault.
Nonetheless, posting a minus-56 on the night is certainly not good. At the very least, Scoot Henderson can rest easy knowing that that plus-minus isn’t the worst for a single game in NBA history. That distinction belongs to Manny Harris, who, in 2011, put up a -57 in 41 minutes of play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 112-57 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Even for this season alone, the Blazers rookie isn’t alone in ignominy. Back on December 16, 2023, Miles Bridges put up a -56 as well in a 135-82 Charlotte Hornets loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Learning the ropes of being a point guard in the NBA may be the toughest job a prospect can have, but as pitiful as this performance was for the Blazers, it’s important to note that Scoot Henderson is only 19 years old, and he has plenty of room to grow his game moving forward.
More must-reads: