Blazers' Scoot Henderson Says He's Eyeing NBA ROY Award: 'Still Up in the Air'

It's been a slow start to the season for Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, but he isn't giving up on the Rookie of the Year race just yet.

"Trying to get Rookie of the Year, that's still my goal," Henderson told Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports. "That's still up in the air, I think."

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft is averaging 11.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting just 36.9 percent from the field and 25.3 percent from deep in 20 games.

It is far too early to give up hopes that the 19-year-old can be the franchise cornerstone successor to Damian Lillard in the Portland backcourt, but winning the Rookie of the Year might be a stretch at this point.

After all, Victor Wembanyama (18.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game) and Chet Holmgren (17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game) have been excellent for the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

Henderson will be fighting quite the uphill battle to make up ground on the two big men, especially since the 8-21 Trail Blazers won't be a playoff factor like Holmgren's 20-9 Thunder.

However, the Portland guard notched a double-double of 17 points and 11 assists in Tuesday's win over the Sacramento Kings in a sign he may be turning things around on an individual level.

If that continues, perhaps he will have a say in the Rookie of the Year race after all.