Wikipedia

Destanni Henderson

Destanni Mone Henderson[1] (born February 2, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Danilo's Pizza of the Turkish Super League. She previously played for the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, and Atlanta Dream in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Henderson played college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks, helping her team win the national championship and earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior. At Fort Myers Senior High School, she won three straight state titles, was a McDonald's All-American selection and was rated as the number one point guard in her class by ESPN. Henderson competes for the United States national team and won a gold medal at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup.

Destanni Henderson
Henderson with South Carolina in 2021
No. 0 – Danilo's Pizza
PositionPoint guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-02-02) February 2, 1999 (age 25)
Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight140 lb (64 kg)
Career information
High schoolFort Myers
(Fort Myers, Florida)
CollegeSouth Carolina (2018–2022)
WNBA draft2022: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Fever
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022Indiana Fever
2023Los Angeles Sparks
2023Phoenix Mercury
2023-2024Antalya BSB Toroslar BC
2024Atlanta Dream
2024-presentDanilo's Pizza
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA AmeriCup
Gold medal – first place 2021 Puerto Rico Team
FIBA Under-17 World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Spain Team

Early life

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Henderson was born on February 2, 1999, in Fort Myers, Florida, to Joyel James and Derrick Henderson.[1][2] She first picked up a basketball at age four,[3] but did not play seriously until the age of 11. Henderson grew up playing against boys and male relatives, and later through the YMCA.[4] She competed for Florida Future, a Fort Myers-based Amateur Athletic Union program, from fifth grade.[5][6] Henderson played for Fort Myers Senior High School in Fort Myers. In her freshman season, she was named to the Class 7A All-State Second Team.[7] As a sophomore, Henderson averaged 15.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and three steals per game,[8] and led her team to its first Class 6A state championship.[6] She earned Class 6A All-State First Team honors and was selected as The News-Press All-Area Player of the Year.[9][10]

In her junior season, Henderson averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 assists and four rebounds per game, and helped Fort Myers win the Class 7A state title. She repeated as The News-Press All-Area Player of the Year and was named Class 7A Player of the Year.[2][11][12] As a senior, Henderson won the Class 7A state tournament to capture a third consecutive state championship.[13] She finished the season averaging 15.2 points, 6.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game. Henderson was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic. She was named Florida Miss Basketball, Florida Gatorade Player of the Year and Class 7A Player of the Year.[14] The News-Press recognized her as its Female Athlete of the Year and Basketball Player of the Year.[15] In 2020, she was awarded The News-Press Player of the Decade by the newspaper's writers and editors.[16]

Henderson was considered a five-star recruit and the number one point guard in the 2018 class by ESPN.[17] On January 15, 2017, she committed to playing college basketball for South Carolina over scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Tennessee, Ohio State, NC State and Florida State. Henderson had received an offer from South Carolina in eighth grade, and was drawn there by head coach Dawn Staley.[18][19] She became the program's highest-ranked recruit since A'ja Wilson in 2014.[4][20]

College career

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Henderson with South Carolina in 2019

On November 11, 2018, Henderson made her debut for South Carolina, scoring 13 points in a 94–38 win against Alabama State.[21] On February 3, 2019, she recorded a season-high 19 points, four rebounds and two assists in an 87–79 win over Arkansas.[22] As a freshman, Henderson averaged 5.5 points and 1.3 assists per game, and was selected to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team.[2] On March 7, 2020, she recorded a sophomore season-high 21 points in a 90–64 victory over Arkansas at the SEC tournament semifinals.[23] Henderson helped her team win the SEC Tournament and earned all-tournament honors.[24] She averaged 8.5 points and 2.8 assists per game as a sophomore.[25]

With the graduation of Tyasha Harris, Henderson became a regular starter for South Carolina during her junior season.[26][27] On November 29, she scored 23 points, all of which came in the second half, in a 79–72 victory over Gonzaga at the Crossover Classic. She was named most valuable player of the tournament.[28] On January 18, 2021, Henderson registered the first double-double of her career, with 14 points and 10 assists in a 104–82 win against Arkansas.[29] On March 7, she recorded 18 points and nine rebounds in a 67–62 victory over Georgia at the SEC tournament final, and was named to the all-tournament team.[26] Henderson helped her team reach the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Division I Tournament. As a junior, she averaged 12.2 points, 5.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.[30] On November 29, Henderson suffered a left leg injury against North Carolina A&T.[31] After being sidelined for three weeks, she returned on December 21, and posted 17 points, seven assists and a career-high seven steals in a 65–61 win over second-ranked Stanford. She led South Carolina back from an 18-point deficit, making it the largest comeback in program history.[32] In her regular season finale on February 27, 2022, Henderson scored 23 points in a 71–57 win against Ole Miss.[33] Henderson helped South Carolina win the national championship. In the title game, she recorded a career-high 26 points, four assists and three steals in a 64–49 win over UConn. Henderson was the primary defender on Paige Bueckers, who was held to 14 points.[34] She was named to the Final Four all-tournament team.[35] As a senior, Henderson averaged 11.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.[36] She made the First Team All-SEC and received Third Team All-American honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association.[37]

Professional career

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WNBA

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Indiana Fever (2022–2023)

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On April 11, 2022, Henderson was drafted in the second round, 20th overall, by the Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.[36]

On May 16, 2023, Henderson was waived.[38]

Los Angeles Sparks (2023)

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On June 16, 2023, Henderson signed a Hardship Contract with the Los Angeles Sparks.[39] Henderson played for the Sparks until the All-Star break, when she was released from her hardship contract on July 16, 2023. Henderson's hardship contract came to end when the Sparks activated the injured Layshia Clarendon.[40]

Phoenix Mercury (2023)

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Henderson signed a 7-Day Contract with the Phoenix Mercury on August 7, 2023. She signed a 2nd 7-Day Contract to remain with the Mercury on August 14, 2023. Following the conclusion of her 2nd 7-Day Contract, Henderson was not signed back to the Mercury.

Atlanta Dream (2024)

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On April 28, 2024, Henderson signed a training camp contract with the Atlanta Dream.[41] She played in two preseason games, but did not make the final roster and was waived on May 10, 2024. On July 5, 2024, she signed a 7-day hardship contract with the Dream.[42] She signed one more 7-day hardship contract a week later, but was ultimately waived upon its expiration.

Overseas

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Antalya BSB Toroslar BC (2023–2024)

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In June 2023, Henderson signed with Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (KBSL) and EuroCup team Antalya BSB Toroslar BC.[43]

Danilo's Pizza (2024–2025)

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Henderson signed with Danilo's Pizza of the Turkish Super League for the 2024–2025 season.

National team career

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Henderson was named to the United States team for the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women in Spain.[2] On June 27, 2016, she recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a 79–62 win against Brazil at the Round of 16. In seven games, Henderson averaged 7.1 points, five assists and 4.4 rebounds per game, helping her team win the bronze medal.[5] She joined the senior national team at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup in Puerto Rico. Henderson averaged 5.5 points and 3.7 assists per game, and won a gold medal.[44]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
* Denotes season(s) in which Henderson won an NCAA Championship

EuroCup

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EuroCup statistics[45]
Year Team GP MPG PPG PTS RPG APG FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT%
2023–24 Antalya BSB Toroslar BC 4 34.7 20.5 82 5 4.8 7.5-16.8 44.8 0.8-6 29.2 3.8-4.8 78.9

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Indiana 36 5 16.4 .401 .366 .719 1.6 2.5 0.8 0.1 1.7 5.3
2023 Los Angeles 10 1 16.9 .362 .105 .737 0.8 2.5 0.7 0.1 1.3 5.0
Phoenix 5 0 6.2 .200 .200 1.000 0.8 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.4
2024 Atlanta 6 0 17.5 .345 .100 .429 2.0 2.5 0.3 0.2 1.7 4.0
Career 3 years, 4 teams 57 6 15.7 .380 .286 .700 1.4 2.3 0.6 0.1 1.5 4.8

College

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NCAA statistics[46]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018–19 South Carolina 31 9 15.7 .369 .372 .706 1.6 1.3 0.5 0.1 1.3 5.5
2019–20 South Carolina 33 0 23.5 .416 .323 .651 2.9 2.8 1.2 0.1 1.9 8.5
2020–21 South Carolina 31 31 34.0 .430 .414 .764 4.7 5.1 1.3 0.2 2.8 12.2
2021–22* South Carolina 34 34 31.0 .403 .399 .721 3.1 3.9 1.4 00.1 2.1 11.5
Career 129 74 26.1 40.9 37.9 71.3 3.1 3.3 1.1 0.1 2.0 9.5

Personal life

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Henderson's nickname, "Boss," was passed down from her mother, whose grandfather called her "Boss Hog," in reference to the character from The Dukes of Hazzard. Her coach with the Florida Future, Jamie Outten, nicknamed her "Lil Boss" when she joined the team as a fifth-grader, and the nickname was changed to "Boss" as she grew older.[6]

Henderson majored in criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina. She made the SEC Academic Honor Roll for five semesters during her first three years at South Carolina.[47]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Destanni Mone Henderson (USA)'s profile – FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2021". FIBA. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Destanni Henderson". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  3. ^ Mull, Cory (May 15, 2015). "Henderson needs to take opportunities one step at a time". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Hadley, Greg (July 27, 2018). "USC's 'college ready' McDonald's All-American watches film of the best". The State. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Mull, Cory (July 11, 2016). "Destanni Henderson reflects on FIBA Championships experience". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Mull, Cory (June 7, 2016). "The 'Boss' behind Destanni Henderson". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  7. ^ DelGallo, Alicia (May 5, 2015). "Area girls make basketball All-State teams". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  8. ^ "Destanni Henderson And USA U17 Women Depart For Europe". USA Basketball. June 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Lichtenstein, Adam (May 12, 2016). "Girls Basketball: Boca Raton's Rachel Levy, Cardinal Newman's Tytionia Adderly lead eight Palm Beach County players named to All-State team". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Reed, Ed (May 31, 2016). "Full list of winners for The News-Press All-Area Stars". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Regan, Adam; Soffian, Seth (May 24, 2017). "Ladies and gentleman, your 2016-17 Southwest Florida Sports Awards winners". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  12. ^ Cooney, Bryan; Regan, Adam (April 27, 2017). "Fort Myers' Destanni Henderson named to ALL-USA girls basketball team". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Soffian, Seth (March 3, 2018). "Three-peat: Fort Myers High waltzes to third straight girls' basketball state title". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  14. ^ Reed, Ed; Regan, Adam (March 19, 2018). "Fort Myers' Henderson named Florida Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Miss Basketball". The News-Press. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  15. ^ Soffian, Seth (May 23, 2018). "Southwest Florida Sports Awards: Destanni Henderson, Berrick Jeanlouis take top honors". The News-Press. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  16. ^ Regan, Adam (May 15, 2020). "Who were selected as The News-Press Boys, Girls Basketball Players of the Decade?". The News-Press. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Destanni Henderson 2018 High School Girls' Basketball Profile". ESPN. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  18. ^ Handel, Craig (November 25, 2017). "Women's basketball: South Carolina coach can't wait for Henderson to arrive". The News-Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Olson, Dan (January 15, 2017). "Point guard Destanni Henderson commits to South Carolina". ESPN. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  20. ^ Hadley, Greg (January 30, 2020). "'It's not always easy,' but Dawn Staley needs this Gamecock to be a super sub". The State. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  21. ^ "Gamecocks Run Past Alabama State 94-38". University of South Carolina Athletics. November 11, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  22. ^ "Gamecocks Come From Behind to Take Down Arkansas". University of South Carolina Athletics. February 3, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  23. ^ "No. 1 Gamecocks reach SEC finals, beat No. 25 Arkansas 90-64". ESPN. Associated Press. March 7, 2020. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "Gamecocks win fifth SEC Championship in six years". Southeastern Conference. Associated Press. March 8, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  25. ^ Hadley, Greg (April 19, 2020). "A way-too-early look at South Carolina women's basketball for 2020-21". The State. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  26. ^ a b Regan, Adam (March 19, 2021). "Fort Myers High alum Destanni Henderson leads No. 1 seed South Carolina into NCAA Tournament". The News-Press. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  27. ^ Cloninger, David (January 18, 2021). "If Razorbacks want to run, Henderson-led Gamecocks welcome it". The Post and Courier. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  28. ^ Reed, Ed (December 1, 2020). "Fort Myers' Destanni Henderson named SEC basketball co-player of the week for South Carolina". The News-Press. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  29. ^ Wellbaum, Chris (January 18, 2021). "WBB: Boston, Beal shine in win over Arkansas". GamecockCentral. Rivals. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  30. ^ Drumwright, Steve (June 2, 2021). "After Long College Season, Destanni Henderson Refocuses on AmeriCup Team". USA Basketball. Red Line Editorial. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  31. ^ Uva, Mike (December 3, 2021). "Destanni Henderson's Injury Update". GamecockCentral. Rivals. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  32. ^ Stone, Augusta (December 22, 2021). "How Destanni Henderson's return pushed South Carolina to comeback win over Stanford". The State. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  33. ^ Hardwig, Greg (March 4, 2022). "College basketball: Fort Myers' Destanni Henderson ready for final run with No. 1 South Carolina". The News-Press. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  34. ^ Blount, Rachel (April 4, 2022). "South Carolina's Henderson steals the show in NCAA title game". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  35. ^ Hardwig, Greg (April 10, 2022). "WNBA Draft: Destanni Henderson riding NCAA title game stardom to pro ball and national celebrity". USA Today. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  36. ^ a b Stone, Augusta (April 12, 2022). "Destanni Henderson selected by Indiana Fever in 2022 WNBA Draft". The State. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  37. ^ "Boston, Henderson Add All-America Titles". University of South Carolina Athletics. March 17, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  38. ^ https://fever.wnba.com/news/fever-waive-destanni-henderson/ [bare URL]
  39. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks Sign Guard Destanni Henderson to Hardship Contract". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  40. ^ @LASparksPR (July 16, 2023). "NEWS: The @LASparks have activated Layshia Clarendon. In a corresponding move, the team has terminated the hardship contract of Destanni Henderson" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  41. ^ "Atlanta Dream Sign Guard Destanni Henderson to Training Camp Contract – Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  42. ^ "Atlanta Dream sign Destanni Henderson to Seven-Day Hardship Contract – Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  43. ^ https://www.fiba.basketball/en/player/224405/Destanni-Henderson#tab=career_statistics [bare URL]
  44. ^ Wellbaum, Chris (June 20, 2021). "WBB: Gamecocks excel in AmeriCup Tournament". GamecockCentral. Rivals. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  45. ^ https://www.fiba.basketball/eurocupwomen/23-24/player/Destanni-Mone-Henderson [bare URL]
  46. ^ "Destanni Henderson". Her Hoop Stats. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  47. ^ "Destanni Henderson". Senior CLASS Award. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
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