Sports Hey PDX July 12, 2025 0 Comments

Trail Blazers’ Yang Hansen Says He Can Do Better After Stellar Debut

Portland Trail Blazers rookie Yang Hansen dazzled in his NBA Summer League debut Friday night against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. The 7-foot-1 center from China dropped head-turning dimes, scored buckets on graceful spin moves, blocked shots at the rim, directed teammates on offense through a language barrier, and mixed it up with opposing big men and laughed at their frustration. He even banked in a 3 (unintentionally, but shhhhh!).

The performance added up to 10 points, five assists, four rebounds and three blocks for the No. 16 overall pick. He also shot 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from deep and 3-4 from the free throw line, helping the Summer League Blazers capture an easy 106-73 win.

The debut was a successful first step in the Yang Era. The baseline of competence and flashes of brilliance from Yang lived up to the colossal level of intrigue that has followed the 20-year-old since his surprising draft-day selection. Fans were clearly delighted by the game, raving on social media and ready to declare Portland’s first-round gamble on Yang a win after one exhibition game. This writer even toyed around with writing an emergency article late last night with the leaning-into-the-pitch headline of “The Night I Saw God (and His Name Was Yang Hansen)” but then wisely went to bed instead.

So what did the man, himself, think of his first performance? Speaking with reporters after the game, Yang wasn’t satisfied.

“I don’t think that was an impressive game for myself,” Yang said via his interpreter. “But I will be better.”

That was just one of the answers Yang gave in an 11-minute media availability session following the debut. Below are more excerpts from the interview (all given via Yang’s interpreter):

Yang on what he thought of the way he played:

“In the game, Coach had told me go to the high post and be a playmaking player today, be like a hub for everyone, so I just follow Coach’s execution and do my job.”

On how it looked like he was having fun out there:

“I enjoy winning moments, but losing, uh-uh, I don’t like it.”

On how he’s adjusting to the new pace of play:

“I got a little bit of improvement [in this game compared to his first practice], but I gotta keep grinding, try to work harder, just getting better — chase the pace.”

On what he thought about leading the team in assists:

“My teammates, they are great shooters and some of them are great penetrators, so for me, I just try to make the play and make everyone stay engaged in the game, so just enjoy the game together.”

On what he said to a teammate after he got subbed out in the fourth quarter:

“I said, ‘yes, sir,’ and the other words, I might get fined so, sorry, I can’t say that here.”

On what Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said to him during a conversation on the sideline:

“Sometimes I make some mistakes, I always talk to my teammates like, ‘my bad, my bad.’ And [Billups] told me, ‘Hansen, no. No more of that, no more. Just help each other, have fun. No more.’”

On his previous comments about the physicality in the NBA being “more civilized” than the Chinese Basketball Association, and if his opinion changed after the Summer League debut:

“The CBA is a real physical game, but today the Warriors players, when he tried to push me on the fast break, I feel great. ‘Oh, somebody made contact with me, I go. I go to him.’”

On what questions he’d ask Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, who Yang has called his idol:

“‘Picture, signature, please?’”

Yang discussed more topics during the interview, including his thoughts on all the fan support he received Friday, particularly from Chinese fans, and how he dealt with the language barrier in game one. I recommend you watch the video to get the full scope and better see Yang’s personality behind each answer.

Additionally, Blazers Summer League head coach Ronnie Burrell spoke with media following Friday’s win. You can find that video here.