ATLANTA — The NBA Draft arrived Thursday night, an event highlighting one of the most anticipated prospects in a generation in French center Victor Wembanyama.
But "Wemby" is headed to San Antonio. Here in Atlanta, we're looking a little more closely at Scoot.
Scoot Henderson was widely considered the second-best player in the draft - in most years, he probably would have been the top pick. He's a Marietta native who went to Kell High School before joining the NBA G-League's developmental Ignite team for a year ahead of the draft.
By all accounts, it was anticipated that Scoot would be the second or third pick on Thursday night.
Meanwhile 11Alive's Reggie Chatman is in Brooklyn for the Draft - follow him on Twitter for highlights and updates throughout the day and evening.
He spoke with the Thompson twins, Amen and Ausar, ahead of the draft on their experience with Overtime Elite and spending two years in Atlanta preparing to go pro.
Check out his report below, and everything else you'll want to know for Atlanta's draft implications along with updates on Thursday night below the video.
Atlanta NBA Draft ties: Hawks, Scoot Henderson, Thompson twins
- Scoot Henderson
Scoot Henderson was selected No. 3 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Marietta product Scoot Henderson went to Kell High School.
Henderson is a high-flying, shake-and-bake point guard with an explosiveness that's evocative of players like Russell Westbrook at his prime or Ja Morant.
His calling card in the NBA is going to be getting to the rim - whether around defenders, with his tricky handles, or simply above them.
His drawback right now is, as with guys like Westbrook and Morant, shooting. He only made 27.5% of his threes for G League Ignite last year. But few players possess the kind of athleticism in that clip above - which is why it was anticipated early on that he would go either second, to the Charlotte Hornets, or third to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Scoot went to Portland, despite having longtime superstar Damian Lillard at point guard themselves. Lillard, at 32, reportedly does not want to be part of a rebuilding project, preferring the Blazers go for veteran reinforcements after a disappointing year.
- Atlanta Hawks
Speaking of potential trades, the Hawks are, according to various rumors, all over the place.
It's hard to keep straight exactly what the Hawks might be thinking - John Collins' name has, of course, come up. That could mean a trade up. Or there's the possibility they trade down.
If they don't make a trade, then you basically find the Hawks attached to a different name in every different mock draft you might pull up.
ESPN has them on Indiana's Jalen Hood-Schifino, a playmaking point guard out of Indiana who - like seemingly everyone at this position in this draft - has some questions about his shot. Seems like an odd fit with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray already on the roster - unless, of course, they need a replacement in the event they trade one of them.
Hood-Schifino is perhaps the closest thing to a consensus with the Hawks here, as The Ringer also projects the team to take him. But that outlet notes the Hawks have been connected "to a whole bunch of teams in trade talks," highlighting Toronto's Pascal Siakam as a possibility. CBS Sports also goes with Hood-Schifino.
Yahoo!'s mock draft sends Kentucky guard Cason Wallace to Atlanta. He's also a point guard, though more in the defense-first mold of a guy like Marcus Smart or Davion Mitchell, a high pick out of Baylor a couple years ago. The Hawks have long struggled to put together a cohesive defense, so this could make some sense. He only shot 34.6% from three at Kentucky, putting his shot in the same will-it-or-won't-it-develop bucket as every other point guard in this range.
SB Nation, meanwhile, has the Hawks going for Baylor's Keyonte George, a little more of a slasher/scorer combo guard who, yes, had an inconsistent three-point shot in college. The Athletic goes with George, too.
Duke's Dereck Lively (nbadraft.net) makes sense as a classic rim-runner/protector if the Hawks move on from Clint Capela; and Kobe Bufkin (Sporting News and AP) is a rangy, crafty playmaker point guard with a (you guessed it) so-so shooting history.
Personally, if the Hawks are possibly moving a guy like Capela or Collins, I'd look more to wing/big hybrids like Alabama's Noah Clowney, France's Bilal Coulibaly or G League Ignite's Leonard Miller, with Miller being my favorite among those. He offers high interior defensive upside with a little bit of playmaking and shooting; think a little bit of what Robert Williams III brings to the Celtics defensively, with a more outside-in offensive profile.
- Thompson twins
Amen Thompson was selected No. 4 overall by the Houston Rockets.
Ausar Thompson was selected right behind his brother at No. 5 overall by the Detroit Pistons.
Amen and Ausar have spent the last two years playing in the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta.
Most mock drafts had them as the next guys up after the draft's big three of Wembanyama, Scoot and Brandon Miller. Amen was broadly considered the slightly better prospect of the two.
Ausar Thompson is more of a probing playmaker, who appears to have better halfcourt handles and a little better instinct for running point guard than Amen.
But Amen Thompson is undoubtedly the better athlete, and will likely be the better scorer of the two, and that perhaps gave him a bit more upside.
They both have high defensive potential with their height and length, and whether they truly feature as a team's lead guard or as more of an off-ball complimentary playmaker will depend a bit on on how their athleticism and court vision eventually flesh out.