Devin Booker offers high praise for Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson

A preseason matchup earlier this week between the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers marked the first of hopefully many times fans will see Devin Booker and Scoot Henderson square off. 

And from the sound of it, Booker certainly believes that’ll be the case, as the Suns star had high praise for the rookie and No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Booker gave his thoughts on Henderson prior to the two teams meeting again on Monday, predicting that the young guard will be “really good,” as Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports revealed.

"Watched him when he was in the G League. I think he's going to be really good. Obviously, we all have some things to learn but it looks like he loves the game, has a high IQ for it, a body built for [it] and his athleticism is off the charts,” Booker said of Henderson.

While Booker played just 21 minutes in the game, he finished with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting and five assists. Henderson logged the most minutes of any player in the game, seeing 31 minutes of action while scoring 22 points and shooting 8-of-14 from the field with four assists and four rebounds. 

The Blazers’ newest addition to its young backcourt did struggle a bit with turnovers (six) and fouls (six).

Booker and Henderson could be a fun matchup to watch for many years, and if the Blazers can make the most of the haul they received in exchange for Damian Lillard, we may see them making noise in the postseason again sooner rather than later.