{"id":294536,"date":"2025-10-11T11:35:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T11:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/294536\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T11:35:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T11:35:14","slug":"yang-hansen-shows-hes-a-star-in-the-making-in-portland-trail-blazers-preseason-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/294536\/","title":{"rendered":"Yang Hansen shows \u2018he\u2019s a star in the making\u2019 in Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 preseason win"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one can say for sure what type of season lies ahead for Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> rookie Yang Hansen<\/a>. <\/p>\n

No one can predict with any certainty that he will be a Rookie of the Year candidate any more than they can predict he\u2019s preordained to be a first-year flop.<\/p>\n

After all, the affable center from China <\/a>carries more question marks and curiosity than perhaps any rookie in recent NBA<\/a> history.<\/p>\n

But for one breathtaking quarter Friday night at the Moda Center, one of the NBA\u2019s most fascinating young players showed just how much potential \u2014 and potential stardom \u2014 he truly has.<\/p>\n

Hansen shook off a game-and-a-half of preseason disappointment with a dazzling and hope-inspiring third quarter, delighting 15,323 awestruck fans and contributing to a 124-123 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat boy different,\u201d Blazers guard Caleb Love<\/a> said. \u201cHe\u2019s nice. He\u2019s a talent. He\u2019s a joy to be around off the court and … I\u2019m enjoying being his teammate. He has so much growth in him, and just to see how talented he is, the moves that he was doing out there, he looked more comfortable than he did the first game. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a star in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that star shined brightest Friday in a third quarter that will have Rip City buzzing all weekend. It came after a lackluster first half, which came after a forgettable exhibition debut<\/a> at Golden State, but it was worth the wait.<\/p>\n

Fifty-one seconds after the 7-foot-2 center stepped on the floor midway through the third quarter, he started putting on a show. <\/p>\n

Hansen swished a corner three in front of the Kings\u2019 bench. He rattled in another three from the top of the perimeter. He finished a right-handed scoop shot at the rim. Then he turned in the highlight of the night, faking a three up top before turning Drew Eubanks into a human yo-yo. Hansen breezed around Eubanks with a behind-the-back dribble, used a spin move to wiggle free into the lane, then completed the jaw-dropping play with a layup off the glass.<\/p>\n

The crowd, which had erupted after each play with increasing ferocity, exploded into a frenzy. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had some moments in camp where he shows some flashes,\u201d Billups said. \u201cHe\u2019s had some moments where you\u2019re just like, \u2018Wow. He\u2019s not supposed to be doing that at that size.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The aforementioned behind-the-back dribble and spin around Eubanks was such a moment. And when Hansen completed the play, finally \u2014 after bombing in his debut at Golden State and spending the better part of the next two days stewing over his failure \u2014 he let out one gigantic exhale.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when I made the second three, I still feel my hands shaking,\u201d Hansen said, smiling, through an interpreter. \u201cWhen I got (the) layups, when I got that spin \u2014 I feel like that\u2019s my move \u2014 so when I got my move today, I think that\u2019s the moment I let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the highlights kept coming. Less than 90 seconds later, he tossed a beautiful backdoor bounce pass to a cutting Shaedon Sharpe<\/a>, who sprinted along the baseline, gathered the pass and hammered home a two-handed dunk. Hansen added a 14-foot turnaround jumper, two free throws and a rebound, then ended the quarter by blocking a Malik Monk drive at the rim with 0.1 seconds left. <\/p>\n

When the quarter was all said and done, Hansen had done a little bit of everything, producing 14 points, two rebounds, one block and one assist, while making 5 of 5 shots, including both of his three-point attempts. He finished the night with 16 points, four rebounds, three blocks and one assist.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s kind of been playing like that throughout training camp, but I think he put it on full display tonight,\u201d Love said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s just getting better and better. He has so many things in his bag that he can bring out any given moment. I haven\u2019t seen somebody that talented in person, at his age, do the things that he\u2019s doing.\u201d <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a perfect performance by Hansen. After his shaky debut in San Francisco, during which he fouled out and committed four turnovers in 21 minutes, his first half at the Moda Center was nearly as forgettable. Shortly after Hansen check in off the bench, Domantas Sabonis beat him badly on back-to-back possessions. And during his second shift, Hansen missed back-to-back wide open shots in the paint, tossed a terrible bounce pass to Jrue Holiday that resulted in a turnover and allowed Eubanks to breeze past him for a layup.<\/p>\n

But Hansen gained a little positive mojo later in the half, thwarting a one-on-one fast break layup by dislodging the ball away from Zach LaVine near the rim.<\/p>\n

Then he put on a show after halftime. <\/p>\n

Billups said that he almost felt bad for Hansen following his shaky debut, because he \u201ccares so much\u201d and \u201cfelt like he let the team down.\u201d But the coach and his staff urged Hansen to have a short memory, to calm down, to stay positive. Hansen said he spent his time between games watching film, asking \u201ca lot of questions from coaches,\u201d and working on his weaknesses. <\/p>\n

When asked what his weaknesses are, Hansen couldn\u2019t help but smile. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost everything,\u201d he said through an interpreter. <\/p>\n

But Hansen also has a few strengths. And many were on display during that jaw-dropping third quarter, when he let go of his first-game flop and showed a glimpse of what enticed Blazers general manager Joe Cronin to shock the NBA world by acquiring him No. 16 overall in the 2025 NBA draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played good, man,\u201d Billups said. \u201cObviously, he made some spectacular plays that I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be seeing again \u2026 on TV. But he was good. He was really good all over the place. I thought his rim protection was tri-level, a lot of block shots. He was in some better spots defensively in the game as well. As I told y\u2019 all \u2026 I felt bad for him in the first game. He just wanted to play so well, and we all wanted him to.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so to see him come out the very next game and play so much better \u2026 look so much more comfortable, it makes you happy. Because he works his butt off, man, and he\u2019s trying to please all of us. And he\u2019s hearing a million different voices \u2014 most he can\u2019t even understand, talking too fast for him \u2014 but I was super proud of him, super proud of him tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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