Trail Blazers’ Rayan Rupert Happy to Take Opportunity with Rip City Remix

Portland Trail Blazers second-year forward Rayan Rupert is the main attraction when he suits up for the franchise’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, at the Chiles Center in North Portland.

For the second time this season, the Trail Blazers assigned Rupert to the Remix for a home game Monday evening against the Austin Spurs. Just like Rupert’s G League season debut last week, he slotted into the starting lineup, played over 30 minutes and took over 15 shot attempts.

The 20-year-old forward from France handled the increased role well in his first outing last week, producing 27 points on 50% shooting and seven assists in a 130-107 loss to the Salt Lake City Stars. He struggled more on Monday, scoring just eight points on 4-16 shooting, while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking two shots in a 124-99 loss to the Spurs. Regardless of the rough night, Rupert told reporters Monday that he was happy to get the opportunity to develop his game in a live, five-on-five setting.

“It’s good to play games,” he said.

Rupert, who the Blazers drafted with the No. 43 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, hasn’t gotten much burn recently with the NBA franchise. The last time Rupert logged over 10 minutes in a Blazers game was on Dec. 6 during a 42-point loss to the Utah Jazz. The 22-game stretch since then has included a scattering of 11 DNP-CDs. He said that lack of playing time has been tough to deal with, especially because he entered preseason and the early parts of the regular season as a more consistent part of the rotation.

“The last two months, it’s been tough to adjust on the bench and just practice,” Rupert said. “So I’m happy to be in the G League to get some reps and get better.”

The increased workload in the G League has been an adjustment for Rupert. He said the first two appearances involved regaining his conditioning for game speed. Along with conditioning, he said he’s using the extra reps with the Remix to focus on 3-point shooting, beating closeouts and attacking the rim. On the defensive end, he wants to work on his switchability.

“Being a dog at the rim, being aggressive at the rim,” Rupert said about how he wants to expand his game during his G League appearances. “ … Just be aggressive on both ends of the court.”

Rupert could get more opportunities with the Remix soon to improve in those areas. The Blazers’ current seven-game homestand, which runs through Feb. 6, dovetails conveniently with a seven-game Remix homestand that runs until Feb. 10. At this moment, it’s unclear how long Rupert’s assignment with the Remix will last, but both franchises will be in the same city for a little over a week, and the Blazers are relatively healthy at the moment. From a logistics standpoint, more Remix appearances for Rupert are feasible in the coming days, with the next chance coming on Wednesday in a rematch against the Austin Spurs.

While Monday marked Rupert’s second appearance with the Remix this season, he isn’t new to the G League. During his rookie season, Rupert played in 21 games for the Remix between the G League Tip-Off Tournament and the regular season. However, the team he returned to this month is largely different from last season since G League rosters generally change over from year to year.

Blazers two-way contract players Tazé Moore and Justin Minaya, along with forwards Romeo Weems and Alex Reese are the only returning Remix players from last season. The Remix is also led by a new head coach in Sergi Oliva. Rupert said it’s a little tough to adjust to new teammates on the fly, but he views it all as an opportunity to become a better player:

“At the end of the day, it’s just basketball, it’s just five-on-five, so I just want to play.”