Portland’s Scoot Henderson Faces Mysterious Hamstring Injury: Will He Return Sooner Than Expected?

Scoot Henderson was cruising toward a breakout season that had the Trail Blazers and their faithful buzzing with hope. After showing undeniable flashes of growth late last year—and with Anfernee Simons traded away—everyone anticipated Scoot stepping up to run the point, alongside veteran guides Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday. It felt like the perfect storm for a big leap. Then, bam—a torn left hamstring during a team workout throws a wrench in all those plans. Now, instead of soaring, Henderson is sidelined, facing 4 to 8 weeks of rehab before he even touches the court again. It’s a gut punch for Portland, no doubt about it. And while the Blazers are optimistic he’ll return to basketball activities by November, hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky, so patience will be the name of the game. With Damian Lillard already out this season nursing his own Achilles injury, the backcourt suddenly looks pretty thin, pushing Jrue Holiday to the starting point guard spot alongside Shaedon Sharpe. Scoot’s solid averages after the All-Star break—13.4 points, 4.6 assists, three boards, and a 35.4% clip from downtown—only make this setback sting that much more. Tough break, Trail Blazers. The road to recovery and team chemistry just got a whole lot rockier. LEARN MORE

Scoot Henderson showed the kind of development in the second half of last season that had the Trail Blazers and their fans optimistic about the leap the guard could make in his third year. With Anfernee Simons gone via trade, it looked as if Henderson would get his chance to start at the point, plus Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday are in Portland as mentors. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Now all that is on hold after Henderson tore his left hamstring in a team workout and hopes to start on-court rehabilitation in 4-8 weeks.

This is a heavy blow for the Trail Blazers.

Notice that the Trail Blazers’ release says Henderson is “expected to return to basketball activities in 4-8 weeks,” not return to play. Hamstrings are fickle and can be slow to heal, and you can be sure the Trail Blazers will be cautious and not look to rush him back and risk re-injury. The Blazers’ timeline suggests that Henderson will start working out toward a return in November and possibly return to the court before or around Thanksgiving.

It seems most likely now that Holiday will start at the point next to Shaedon Sharpe in the backcourt. The Trail Blazers were already a little shorthanded in the backcourt, with Damian Lillard on the roster but not playing this season due to a torn Achilles.

After the All-Star break last season, Henderson averaged 13.4 points, 4.6 assists and three rebounds a game. For the season he shot 35.4% from 3-point range.