Scoot Henderson could not keep his emotions hidden as he played against Russell Westbrook to kick off the 2023-2024 NBA season. As fans might be aware, the Los Angeles Clippers were matched up against the Portland Trail Blazers for their first game of the season.
Seeing Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook in action is something that Clippers fans have not had for a while. Since the Clippers are the more experienced and talented team when compared to the Blazers, it is really no surprise that they ended up winning the game with a final score of 123-111.
While one might assume that Scoot would be unhappy over losing his first official game, the young star was feeling nothing but joy in playing against the NBA stars that he idolized. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Does Scoot Henderson admire Russell Westbrook?
Although Westbrook earned quite a bad reputation in the eyes of the media based on his time with the Lakers, there is no denying that he is one of the most talented point guards of the modern generation. Veteran NBA fans will know that a prime Westbrook seemed like an unstoppable force.
Scoot once revealed that the Clippers star was one of his favorite players. Based on Henderson’s game, it is also clear that he has modeled it quite a bit based on Westbrook. Since playing in an official NBA game is still a new experience for Scoot, he was caught on camera smiling as Russell threw down a ferocious two-handed dunk.
Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson was all smiles as he watched his idol Russell Westbrook throw down this two-handed dunk 🤩
(📸: Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/uHka7hPXXM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 26, 2023
Both Henderson and Westbrook finished the night after scoring 11 points. However, Westbrook facilitated open teammates much better when compared to Scoot as Russell had 13 assists to Scoot’s 4. This goes to show fans how much experience matters in the league.
While Scoot Henderson might admire Westbrook at the moment, he will snap out of it soon enough and begin to see him as a rival on the court. Hopefully, this makes for a good postseason matchup. However, this is under the assumption that Henderson is able to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a spot in the postseason after a grueling 82-game-long regular season.