Sport: Basketball
Born: December 9, 1987
Town: Caldwell, New Jersey
Jerome McKinley Henderson Jr. was born December 9, 1987 in Caldwell, NJ. His father, Gerald Henderson. a guard for the Celtics during the early years of the Larry Bird era, was winding down his career. The Henderson family moved to suburban Philadelphia after he signed a contract with the 76ers, and that’s where “Gerald” grew up. Naturally, he was attracted to basketball because of his dad, and became a top shooting guard for Episcopal High School in Merion. He was also an all-conference golfer and high jumper.
Gerald and his backcourt mate, Wayne Ellington, were McDonald’s All-Americans and both were heavily recruited by top national programs. Wayne signed with UNC while Gerald opted for Duke. Gerald warmed Mike Krzyzewski’s bench as a freshman in 2006–07, then took over a starting guard slot as a sophomore. In his junior year, Gerald led the team with a 16.5 scoring average and helped the Blue Devils win the ACC Tournament and snag a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He was named third-team All-American and first-team All-ACC.
Duke was upended in the regional semis by Villanova, which went on to the Final Four—where the Wildcats lost to Ellington’s Tar Heels. UNC won the national championship two days later.
Gerald decided to skip his senior season and entered the NBA Draft. He was taken with the 12th pick in the first round by the Charlotte Bobcats. Gerald earned a starting job midway through his second NBA campaign, and had a breakout year in 2011–12. He averaged 15.1 pints per game, albeit for a team that finished with the most losses in league history. The following year, he had a pair of 35-point games in March and again finished with a 15-point scoring average.
In 2014–15, the team changed its name to Hornets. Gerald, in his 6th NBA season, found himself in a battle for playing time with rising star Kemba Walker and newcomer Lance Stephenson. His scoring dipped to 12.1 and the Hornets traded him to Portland after the season. Gerald started about half the time for the Trailblazers, and then signed a free-agent deal with the “hometown” 76ers for the 2016–17 campaign. He averaged 9.2 points as a Sixth Man for Philly, but was bothered by a sore hip all year.
Gerald opted to undergo hip surgery, meaning he would miss the 2017–17 season. While working himself back into shape, he tore his Achilles tendon in a pick-up game, ending his NBA career. Gerald wanted to stay in the game and the Hornets gave him that opportunity when they added him to their broadcast team in 2019.