Trail Blazers reporter Reese Kunz wrote an article about Yang Hansen, pointing out that Yang Hansen's performance in Xia Lian has made the team's decision-making look quite visionary. The following is all.

The Portland Trail Blazers selected Yang Hansen with the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and this unconventional choice is undoubtedly a bold attempt. Although the Summer League only played two games, Portland's choice seems to have been initially proven.

In the first summer league game, Yang Hansen contributed 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal to the Trail Blazers, with a shooting percentage of 3 of 7 shots. Then, in the game against Memphis, he scored 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block again, shooting 4 of 8 shots.

Although Yang Hansen is not perfect - physical fitness and turnovers are two main aspects that he needs to improve (8 turnovers in total in two games), in the limited sample, his strengths clearly outweigh the shortcomings. It seems that Portland has indeed found a treasure.

Hansen Yang may take time to become an inside scoring master, but his comprehensive data in two games shows that he can influence the game without relying on scoring. Yang Hansen has shown excellent game understanding and prediction ability, and his 7-foot-1-inch height makes him an excellent passer. Compared with top inside players like Jokic and Shin Kyung, Yang Hansen is not inferior in terms of passing at least.

Yang Hansen's physical condition and basketball IQ cannot be cultivated, which also gives him a high lower limit, which makes the Trail Blazers confident that they will choose the player who was originally expected to be selected in the second round at the 16th pick. Hansen Yang will complement Donovan Klingen, which is crucial for the Trail Blazers’ future season, especially given Klingen’s physical condition and Robert Williams III’s injury history (plus his expiring contract and uncertain future).

The reason why we are optimistic about this adventure is that Yang Hansen is one of the rookies with the highest upper limit in the middle of the first round. The Trail Blazers need such a big move to increase star power to catch up with the highly competitive Western Conference. His field vision and potential to be an offensive hub will greatly help the Trail Blazers improve their mediocre offense. He is the ideal candidate for the team to build a young and defensive core. Most importantly, the Summer League has proven that his lower limit is not as low as originally thought. Yang Hansen already has all the conditions to gain a foothold in the league and make an impact.