Scoot Henderson is nearing his season debut with a hamstring injury

The upside of signing Damian Lillard last offseason instead of waiting until he recovered his torn Achilles was additional wisdom the franchise great could provide Scott Henderson. The third-year guard’s development has been a top priority heading into the 2025-26 campaign, but unfortunately, he has yet to play in a single game. Henderson suffered a torn hamstring before training and has endured a difficult recovery. His wait seems to be almost overhowever.

The former No. 3 overall draft pick is working out with Portland, approaching his season debut. Blazers interim coach Thiago Splitter is pleased with the progress Henderson is making, but is still unsure of the exact schedule.

“He’s able to make some contact now,” the 2014 NBA champion said, per Sean Hykin of The Rose Garden Report. “He’s getting better. I don’t have a date for you yet, but he’s working hard and feeling good after practice.”

Portland is already struggling without the 21-year-old, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference at 23-25. Given the adversity this team has faced, both on and off the fielda .500 record is probably all fans can ask for at this point. However, Rip City wants to see how Scoot Henderson fits into the current Trail Blazers scheme.

Despite making some slight progress in his second NBA campaign, the 6-foot-3 native of Marietta, Ga., still has shooting deficiencies to address. He has a 40.1 goal percentage in 128 games. However, Henderson still shows plenty of promise and could find more opportunities to succeed in this up-and-coming team.

Danny Avdia is in line to earn his first career All-Star selection, Shaddon Sharpe is scoring nearly 22 points per game, Donovan Klingan is averaging a double-double and shooting guard Toumani Kamara is heating up from 3-point range (he shot 39 percent in January). An exciting young core is blossoming in Portland. Henderson will have the opportunity to grow alongside that as he suits up.

Hopefully that time will come soon.