With projected top pick Victor Wembanyama and Metropolitans 92 making a 5,000-mile trek from France to face Scoot Henderson and the NBA G League Ignite this week, Henderson maintained the matchup was just another game on the schedule.
It sure didn’t feel that way.
From the tip, Henderson hit the court with something to prove to the 200-plus scouts and executives on hand at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. After all, he is considered by most to be the second pick next year behind Wembanyama.
Henderson responded by putting up a team-high 28 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals in the 122-115 win. He was electrifying throughout his 31 minutes on the floor. He showed off his complete package of moves, and often found success getting to his spots.
“I feel like I played pretty good,” Henderson said. “I still have areas of my game where I feel I need to get better and that’s not on the stat sheet. I feel like I had an all-around game today and tried to be a leader and stay vocal even when I was on the bench supporting my team.”
Said Wembanyama of Henderson:
He is tough to guard, just what I expected. I think the biggest point of his game is his aggressiveness. Every time the ball is in his hands, it is even something you feel on the court, you know he can be so dangerous. He can slash, he can shoot the ball. I was surprised in a good way. He is a great player.
While Henderson proved he belonged on the same stage as Wembanyama, it may have been the 7-foot-4 center that stole the show. From the opening possession, Wembanyama looked to be a player the NBA hasn’t seen in quite some time — if ever.
He dazzled on offense, from hitting stepback 3s to flashing his footwork in the post and running as the point guard. On the other end, Wembanyama put his 8-foot wingspan to work, blocking five shots and altering several others in 32 minutes of action.
It made for quite a stat line: 37 points on 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.
“Victor is a pretty good player,” Henderson said afterward. “He is lanky and I expected that so nothing really surprised me. Just hitting shots, it was a good game.”
Playing in Europe, Wembanyama is used to the FIBA rules, which vary from those used in the NBA. One of them: The length of the game. The eight additional minutes of game time proved one adjustment he needed to overcome.
I’ve never played such a long game of 48 minutes. I’ve only played 40 minutes before. In such a long time, you’ve got time to do a lot of stuff. When I was subbed out, I was just focusing on myself and telling myself: ‘You’ve got time. You’re going to score points. We’re going to score.’ It was a great experience. I can’t wait to do it again in two days.
Wembanyama called the game the most important of his career to this point in terms of worldwide recognition. It drew reporters from France and Brazil. Phoenix Suns guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces, even sat courtside.
The game was, by all accounts, a potential look at the top two picks in the draft next year. There was plenty of hype on the game entering the evening and it even drew the attention of several other NBA players watching along on ESPN 2, including Ja Morant and Donovan Mitchell.
But, to Henderson, it was just another game.
I didn’t really think about it too much. I was there to win. They talk but I don’t really pay attention to all of that. I try to stay off social media as much as I can when it comes to trying to compare and contrast players with one and two. I don’t really feed into that. I just feed into going into the game going 110% and focus on winning.
The two teams will meet one more time on Thursday at 3 p.m. EDT.
