John Henson // Credit: nba.com
Three years removed from his last stint in the NBA, former lottery pick John Henson finds himself with plenty of options in life. He’s happily entered the world of broadcasting, not looking back on his decision to pursue sports media in lieu of continuing his career in professional hoops.
“It’s been fun. It's like a journey, man. Every year, there's new opportunities,” Henson told RG.org in an exclusive phone interview. “Just like basketball, you've got to work hard, stay down, be prepared and meet the right people, know the right people, treat people the right way and it'll progress forward for you."
There’s no shortage of work for Henson, who has multiple affiliations already.
In January, during college basketball season, he’ll provide color commentary for ACC games under Raycom, appear on SiriusXM’s ACC Today program, and break down matchups for Field of 68: AFTER DARK on YouTube. On top of that, he just signed a deal with Odds Shark to contribute remotely to The Huddle, a weekly football podcast on Wednesdays.
Though his goal is to ultimately find an exclusive home, Henson has enjoyed working at so many different places in such a short amount of time.
“The money is good, it pays some bills. I also stay busy. So I'm just trying to grow in that space and see where it takes me,” Henson said.
Henson’s transition into the field began two and a half years ago. Gauging offers from China and Europe – and mulling over a proposition from Turk Telekom of the Turkish Basketball Super League – he decided instead that being beachside and making a good living would be his top priority. Puerto Rico fit that description.
On March 8, 2022, Henson signed with Mets de Guaynabo of Balencesto Superior Nacional, looking forward to a summer season and being closer to home. It didn’t go as planned. He had a hard time adjusting, so much so that he never played a game and left in mere months.
“I knew a couple of guys that went over there,” Henson said of his initial decision. “Brandon Knight, my guy Ed Davis. I saw DeMarcus Cousins go over there. I said, ‘I commend you guys for making it 'cause I couldn't do it.’
“I said, 'Alright, well, that's gonna be it,’” he recalled, referring to his playing career coming to an end.
Just like that, Henson was done. He went from a 26-minute starter who appeared in a career-high 76 games for an on-the-rise Milwaukee Bucks team in the 2017-18 season to being out of the NBA in seemingly the blink of an eye.
"Basketball's never life or death for me or my life"
It started with a left wrist injury sustained Nov. 6, 2018 in Portland. He played through it for four more games but then had to have surgery to repair a torn ligament. Less than a month later, the Bucks traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He missed the rest of the year.
Henson returned to the floor in his Cavs debut on Oct. 26, 2019. Unfortunately, there was another setback. He suffered a strained right hamstring that kept him out until December. Eventually returning to play, Henson found a rhythm for 28 games and even recorded his first double-double in nearly two years in what would be his last game with Cleveland..
The day after, the Cavs dealt him to the Detroit Pistons, where he played for the rest of the initial 2020 campaign when everybody’s world flipped upside down that March.
“I played 11 games with the Pistons; I ended up starting. So I'm like, 'Okay, well I can get my feet up under me. People are gonna be able to see that I'm healthy.' Boom, season ends, we don't go to the Bubble. So it was an unfortunate string of bad luck.”
Henson’s last active days in the NBA were spent as a starter in Detroit who just turned 30. The Pistons renounced their rights to the big man in Nov. 22, 2020. Though the New York Knicks inked him to a 10-day contract on Apr. 5, 2021, he didn’t appear in a single game for the franchise.
“I could've fought. I could've went the G League route and tried to work my way back, but I've always just been a guy that basketball's never life or death for me or my life,” Henson said. “I'm not gonna sit here and bang my head against the wall. My first initial thought was let me finish my education and let me see what happens, and then we'll go from there.”
Strong Relationship with the Bucks
That summer, the Bucks wound up winning their first NBA championship in over 50 years.
“It was like a closing chapter for me,” Henson said of Milwaukee’s title win. “When they were trying to win it, I almost had anxiety like, 'Oh man, are they gonna win? What's gonna happen? Hopefully they win.' And then, part of you's like, 'Ah, they traded me. I don't want them to win.' But when they did win, I was just happy for 'em. I love it for them. We’re still close to this day.”
The Bucks selected Henson with the No. 14 in the 2012 NBA Draft. One year later, Milwaukee took a chance on an international prospect named Giannis Antetokounmpo; Henson’s draft classmate Khris Middleton joined the two via offseason trade from Detroit as well.
Henson remembers Antetokounmpo getting off the plane in Milwaukee and being one of the first people that the “Greek Freak” saw in his new home. He’ll also never forget training in Houston with Middleton, who was fighting just to get to the league at the time pre-draft.
“I'm over there, lottery pick, not traveling, working out every day smiling,” Henson said. “He's all like, 'I'm going to this workout.' He's working out for 30 teams. I was driving the big Inifiniti, he had the humble Explorer from [Texas] A&M. I've seen those guys grow, man, so I'm so happy for those two specifically 'cause I've seen where they came from and the amount of growth as people and their bank accounts.
Still great friends with his old teammates and Middleton, Henson foresees the recently turned 33-year-old getting another big payday and Milwaukee making plenty of noise in the 2024-25 season.
“He's getting older, but he's still got some kick left in him. The Bucks need him really bad. I think they're gonna be a lot better than people think this year. They're kinda hiding under the radar right now. No one's really talked about them.
“That's how they want it. That's how Khris likes it. That's how the Bucks want it – flying under the radar and all of a sudden you look up, 'Hey, we're No. 1 in the East and we just won a championship.' They're not sneaking up on anybody this year, but I think the noise is a little too quiet around 'em. People should start kinda looking at 'em.”
Henson maintains a great relationship with the Bucks. General manager Jon Horst calls him frequently to check in and let him know that the door is always open for a front office role or to work in a scouting capacity.
Spencer Davies has covered the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers as a credentialed reporter for the past nine seasons. His work has appeared on Basketball News, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, FOX Sports, HoopsHype, CloseUp360, FanSided and Basketball Insiders among others. In addition to his work in journalism, he has been a senior editor, a digital production assistant, social media manager and a sports radio anchor and producer.
