Scoot Henderson on why he should be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft: 'I'm one of none'
LAS VEGAS — It's still nine months until the 2023 NBA draft, and the entire basketball world is talking about two 18-year-olds who are projected to not only be the top two picks, but also potential franchise-changing players. The 7-foot-3 French wunderkind, Victor Wembanyama, and 6-foot-3 point guard Scoot Henderson have made it popular for NBA teams to tank this season for a 14% chance of landing either player.
Wembanyama is the clear favorite to go No. 1, but Henderson may have created a little doubt (even if it was just an inkling) in NBA scouts' minds when he led his team, G League Ignite, to a win over Wembanyama's Metropolitans 92 on Tuesday night, 122-115.
Both players were incredible, with Wembanyama coming alive in the second half finishing with 37 points (including seven 3-pointers) and five blocks in 32 minutes. Henderson added 28 points with nine assists and found ways to finish around Wembanyama and even made a contested 3-pointer with Wembanyama's 8-foot wingspan in his face.
"It was definitely a duel, and both teams were playing hard," Henderson told Yahoo Sports. "We executed down the stretch and came out with the win."
The unequivocal top prospects in a very loaded draft class are very different players. Wembanyama is a generational-type talent and like no other player we've seen since LeBron James. At his young age, Henderson has already been compared to Ja Morant, Derrick Rose and Damian Lillard.
Henderson is confident that he brings something different than Wembanyama and thinks he's the best player in this draft class.
"I'm one of none," Henderson said. "Very few come like me ... just my competitiveness and the dog in me.
"I feel like just the leadership, just being a vocal point guard on and off the floor, and the will to win is what separates me from [Wembanyama]."
Whether Henderson goes No. 1 or No. 2, the team that lands him is getting a special player who could emerge as one of the best point guards to ever play the game.
"I don't really feed into any expectations, I put the work in," Henderson said. "My favorite player is Kobe Bryant and he's great and that's what I want to be, I want to be great. In order to be great you have to come into every game and give 115% with only one mindset and that's to kill whoever the opponent is."
Round 2 of Wembanyama vs. Henderson is 3 p.m. ET Thursday. Basketball fans around the world are getting a first look at a pair of players who will become household names very, very soon.
