Xavier Henry biding his time in Santa Cruz for an NBA comeback
There was no confetti, no major media outlets or even a team announcement, but last Friday former lottery pick Xavier Henry made his season debut for the Santa Cruz Warriors nearly 15 months after rupturing his left Achilles tendon.
This has been a long time coming for Henry, who has been tested mentally over the past few seasons following major injuries to both of his legs. Toward the end of the 2013-14 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was experiencing right knee pain and doctors eventually found some cartilage abnormality. He sat out the rest of the year and took a trip across the pond to receive the renowned Regenokine surgery in hopes to resolve the knee issues.
Henry came back strong. Then in November of 2014, he ruptured his left Achilles, and the long and cumbersome road to recovery was initiated. Fortunately for him, he had a future Hall of Famer in his corner to guide him through the highs and lows.
“Kobe [Bryant] helped me a lot, man,” Henry told U&M. “I was playing with him when I ruptured my Achilles, so seeing him recover from it has been encouraging, and he always checks up on me and it’s helped me a lot.”
Xavier signed with the Golden State Warriors back in October and was waived four days later. He was then was allocated to the Santa Cruz Warriors to continue rehabbing. For Henry — a decorated high school player, college stud and lottery pick in 2010 — to humble himself and sign with the NBA D-League shows just how dedicated he is to getting healthy in the right environment, while also proving he can still play this game when at full health.
By no means has the road been easy, however, and the mental anguish is something that was extremely difficult for Henry. “There are hard days, depressing days but you gotta pick yourself up,” he said. “I never once thought about quitting but it’s definitely hard. I believe the strongest battles are given to the strongest souls.”
Even before the injuries, Henry was fighting an uphill battle as a 2010 lottery pick by the Memphis Grizzlies who was struggling to find his footing in The Association. He’s only 24-years-old but he’s already played five seasons in the NBA for three different clubs. Add in the injury concern and that hill he’s climbing seems to be getting even more steep.
“They probably will,” Henry responded when asked if front offices will label him as injury prone. “I know guys who have bad injuries and never get hurt again. There’s no such thing as being injury prone. Yeah, people will watch me closely now, but I’m still a 0-100 type of player. My style isn’t changing, that’s what got me to this point — that’s just me.”
That “0-100” attitude was on full display in his debut Friday night. Henry got to the free throw line 10 times (made six) in just 16 minutes of play, regularly beating his man off the dribble and attacking the rim like he wasn’t returning from a major injury. Will he get back to the days of putting 7-footers on posters? Perhaps not, but it won’t be for lack of trying.
Aside from the aggressive play, Henry looked rusty — but that much was to be expected. He’s been off the court for 15 months and while there were glimpses of his past potential, it’s clear to see he’s not back to his normal self. This is just part of the process, one that has tested Henry’s patience and made him appreciate the journey as much as the end result.
Make no mistake about it, though: Henry is still focused on getting back to playing pain-free basketball. He even has a message for the doubters out there: “Just watch and see. There’s a time for talking and a time for work. I’ve been working harder than ever and my time is coming.”
And it all started on a confetti-free day in February, with no media outlets or even a team announcement.