The Portland Trail Blazers are entering a new era, turning over the keys to the franchise to Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, in the aftermath of trading Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. While Henderson is a talented young player, this responsibility may be too heavy for him at this point, seeing as he's only 19 years old. But at the very least, the Blazers rookie is cognizant of how hard he has to work so he could fill the franchise cornerstone role his talent says he can.

Speaking to reporters after the Blazers' Wednesday training, Henderson revealed just how much he has to improve for him to fulfill his career goals in the NBA all the while acknowledging the strides he has already made.

“Not dwelling on having a bad quarter and a few possessions, I'm always onto the next possession. That's somewhere I grew a lot since I've been a pro. I'm just proud of myself, but I've got a lot of work to be done, if I want to be the player I want to be,” Henderson said, per Orlando Sanchez of KGW TV.

But at the end of the day, Scoot Henderson knows that there's something more fulfilling in his career to work towards than individual success. Henderson also pointed out that he wants the Blazers to succeed as a unit; as the old adage goes, “united we stand, divided we fall”.

“My vision of a successful season is having everybody together. That's one thing that we're gonna emphasize this year, our togetherness. The more I myself can contribute to that, to being together in the locker room, I think that's my vision of a successful season,” Henderson added.

“We might not be the best, but I know all the guys in our team we're striving for that. […] That's our main goal. Be such a solid group that no one can take us apart.”

That will be music to Blazers fans' ears, as in basketball, being together through the good and the bad is a crucial part in achieving something far more than personal gain, which Scoot Henderson seems to be hell-bent on doing.