"Scoot Henderson lives basketball": Steph Curry's trainer raves about no. 3 overall pick's work ethic, Rookie of the Year chances and more (Exclusive)

The Portland Trail Blazers became intrigued enough with Scoot Henderson’s athleticism and speed to select him at No. 3 in the NBA Draft. But should the Blazers feel worried about whether Henderson can become a more consistent shooter?

Though his job description entails scrutinizing his client’s shooting approach, trainer Brandon Payne dismissed any concerns about Henderson’s poor marks during his second season with G-League Ignite (42.9% overall, 27.5% from 3).

“Scoot can shoot the ball,” Payne told Sportskeeda. “When he feels one go down the right way, you better watch out because there’s a bunch coming behind him. But like with any young player, there’s going to be ups and downs. He will just have to weather those and work through them."

In part two of a wide-ranging interview, Payne detailed the work Henderson has done to improve his shooting, how Stephen Curry has mentored Henderson and how Henderson has handled the uncertainty on whether the Blazers will trade their franchise star Damian Lillard.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed.

Trainer Brandon Payne praises Scoot Henderson for his impeccable work ethic - Full interview

In what ways has Steph’s mentorship helped Scoot?

Payne:

“Scoot came out and spent a few days with us in July. He has been with his team since then. Scoot is physically talented and physically prepared to play in the NBA as any incoming rookie has ever been, especially at his age. He’s still learning the daily process on what it takes to be a great NBA player day in and day out."

"That’s the most impactful thing that Steph can do for Scoot – to help him learn how to develop a daily process, how to operate that daily process during a season and how to deal with the ups and downs of the NBA. Your first year in the NBA has 82 lessons. There are going to be good lessons and there are going to be bad ones. How do you deal with the good and the bad together? How do you keep an even keel mentally and stay in your process? That’s what Steph has taught him more than anything else.”

I read you shared a story about Scoot feeling overwhelmed after seeing Steph make 60 in a row during a joint workout. What was the color behind that moment?

Payne:

“That was before the draft. We had a ‘consecutive make’ drill. It’s a finishing drill. It’s pretty common for guys to rattle off eight, 10 or 12 in a row. Steph got to the top of the key and rattled it off. I didn’t think we’d get out of the gym. He was there for a while. Scoot made four or five, but then he missed. I looked at Scoot and said, ‘If I had to wait 20 minutes before taking shots, I’d be missing pretty early, too.’ That was the first time Steph touched the ball since the playoffs. It was pretty impressive.”

Before the draft, G-League Ignite folks told me they were impressed with Scoot’s athleticism, speed, work ethic and leadership skills. Specifically, how did you see Scoot embody those qualities?

Payne: “With young guys, they usually fit in three categories. They either like basketball, love basketball or live basketball. Scoot Henderson lives basketball. That’s all he does. That’s the biggest thing when you talk about what’s going to him get through the early part of his career and be resilient and tough. You have to live basketball. He lives it. That’s the most impressive thing about him. It helps you get through the ups and downs."

"There will be ups and downs his first couple of years in the league. That’s inevitable. It’ll help him get through it. If you just like basketball, you’ll always be looking for reasons to take a break. If you love basketball, sometimes you’ll look for a reason to create an excuse. But if you live basketball, you’ll look for every opportunity to get better. That’s what separates him.”

A lot has been made about Scoot’s shooting being a weakness. What’s your view on what does and doesn’t matter involving his shooting?

Payne:

“It’s more about the process. It’s mentally how you approach the journey with becoming a better shooter. If you’re a guy that’s going to get mad and [ticked] off about every miss and you’re going to start kicking the ball around and cussing, you’re going to miss the information you need to make to your body to make shots. That is about being process oriented in your work and not being results oriented early in your career. That’s what it’s going to take to become a really consistent shooter.

What’s your current evaluation of Scoot’s shooting?

Payne:

“Scoot can shoot the ball. When he feels one go down the right way, you better watch out because there’s a bunch coming behind him. But like with any young player, there’s going to be ups and downs. He will just have to weather those and work through them.

To clarify, you’re not emphasizing to Scoot about changing or even tweaking any shooting mechanics.

Payne:

“Oh yeah. It’s making changes to your moving patterns. It’s more about working from the ground up to make sure you are as symmetrical as possible and putting power on the ground and limiting the amount of times that you twist. It’s about making sure that you’re keeping good shoulder mobility. You’re keeping your hips wide open, flexibility-wise. If you want to shoot the basketball better, you have to move better.

2023 NBA Summer League - Portland Trail Blazers v Houston Rockets

The Blazers were impressed with Scoot’s play in Summer League and how he has handled the unknown with whether they trade Damian Lillard and how either scenario can affect his role. How have you seen Scoot deal with those things?

Payne:

“Those variables don’t have anything to do with Scoot Henderson day in and day out. You have to control the controllables. What is controllable is what you do day in and day out to get better. All of the other stuff that happens outside of you, you have to let that stuff take care of itself. You just have to focus on yourself. That’s what Scoot does. He lives within his process to get better. He lets the coaches and the front office handle all of that."

Scoot also expressed confidence that he can win Rookie of the Year…

Payne:

(Interrupts). "If I looked like he did and moved like he did, I would have that same confidence. It’s pretty impressive."

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What do you think will be key for Scoot to win that award?

Payne:

“It’s hard because you’re comparing him to 59 other unknowns. There are 59 other guys that were drafted, and you don’t know how they’re going to play. You have to worry about you and control what you can control. Whatever outcome comes with that, you live with it and you make adjustments.”

What’s your sense of how Scoot will handle the challenge with head-to-head matchups against those in his draft class, including Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller?

Payne:

“As a guy who lives basketball, he relishes any competition. He’s a competitive kid and he wants to win. Another big factor is that you have to love to compete day in and day out. He definitely does that."

They’re different players. But with Steph mentoring Scoot, do you think Scoot has a ceiling similar to Steph?

Payne:

“They’re two completely different basketball players. Mentor is not mentor in terms of skill work. It’s more about mentoring on how to be a professional. Scoot Henderson has to be Scoot Henderson. He has to be himself because being himself has put himself in a pretty good position. He doesn’t need to try to be anybody else, but himself. Scoot’s really good. It’s more about that mentorship. Scoot can always text him and ask him questions. But it’s just about learning how to be a pro with everything that you do."

Steph mentioned that he wants to play in the 2024 Olympics. From now and then, what will be the key factors that will determine whether he can do that?

Payne:

“I’ll be 100% honest with you. We haven’t had one word of discussion about it. It hasn’t even hit my radar yet because we still have 82 games to get through before we get to 82-plus. We haven’t had one word. I didn’t realize it’s next year. We haven’t had one word in a discussion about it.”

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