Damian Lillard has captured a majority of the Portland Trailblazers’ news and limelight for the last few months. And now, with his departure looking imminent, one youngster is ready to take over the reins from him. It is none other than the 2023 NBA draft’s #3 pick, Scoot Henderson. Many have hailed the former G-League star to be the replacement for Portland’s All-Time Leading Top Scorer, Lillard.

Henderson has taken the NBA fanbase by storm with his explosive gameplay. However, there is still a lot to be known about the 19-year-old. For instance, his real name is not Scoot Henderson!

What is Scoot Henderson’s name?

Scoot Henderson came into the world as Sterling Henderson on February 3rd,  2004. However, his moniker Scoot or Scoota came into existence very soon.

Ever since a toddler, the NBA star has been called that name by friends and family. There are two stories behind the name. Some siblings say that the toddler liked to scoot across the floor on his rear. For this reason, they named him Scoot. However, Crystal Henderson, a top-ranked point guard recruit in Georgia, asserted that it was just a casual nickname, according to Sports Illustrated.

Henderson’s surroundings influenced his basketball journey

Sports and basketball, in particular, run in the Henderson family. After all, three of his sisters played Division I basketball. Moreover, 16-year-old Crystal also has huge potential to make it big in the WNBA.

Scoot might be the biggest prospect of coming out of a sports fanatic Henderson family who starts their day with ‘sports disagreements’. He is one of the biggest names in the 2023 NBA draft and Henderson also has a huge chance of winning the Rookie of the Year award over rival, Victor Wembanyama.

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Growing up, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant heavily inspired Henderson. Interestingly, most of his other siblings were also devoted followers of The Mamba!

Is he the Damian Lillard replacement?

Although the rumors are very strong, there is still no deal between the Miami Heat and the Portland Trailblazers. With the NBA season coming up, there are some chances that Lillard and Henderson end up playing together.

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In case Lillard ends up leaving, they have Henderson to step into his shoes. And by the look of things, Scoot is ready for the challenge. The youngster has already made it clear that he wants to win the Rookie of the Year award. “My goal, obviously, is to win Rookie of the Year, and I will win Rookie of the Year“, said the 19-year-old point guard. Moreover, he has asserted that he would love to handle the point guard role for the Trailblazers after Lillard.

“If he leaves, I’m going to just embrace that. I’m going to embrace being the point guard for the team. And that comes with practice”, said Henderson according to Hoopshype.

Although these might sound crazy coming from a player yet to prove himself in the NBA, Scoot Henderson has everything in his skillset to make it happen. Playing for Ignite in the G-League during the 2022-23 season, the #3 pick quickly established himself as one of the bright stars. Henderson averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while starting in 18 of the 19 games during the season.

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What are your predictions for Scoot Henderson? Let us know in the comments below.