Destanni Mone Henderson^[1] (born February 2, 1999) is an American professional basketball player. She previously played for the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, and Phoenix Mercury. 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.

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Destanni Henderson

Henderson with South Carolina in 2021
Personal information
Born	(1999-02-02) February 2, 1999 (age 25) Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight	140 lb (64 kg)
Career information
High school	Fort Myers (Fort Myers, Florida)
College	South Carolina (2018–2022)
WNBA draft	2022: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Fever
Playing career	2022–present
Position	Point guard
Number	24
Career history
2022	Indiana Fever
2023	Los Angeles Sparks
2023	Phoenix Mercury
2023-2024	Antalya BSB Toroslar BC
Career highlights and awards
NCAA champion (2022) Third-team All-American – USBWA (2022) First-team All-SEC (2022) SEC All-Freshman Team (2019) McDonald's All-American (2018) Florida Miss Basketball (2018)
Medals Women's basketball Representing the  United States FIBA AmeriCup 2021 Puerto Rico Team FIBA Under-17 World Cup 2016 Spain Team

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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]

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]

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.^[42]

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.^[45]