Yang Hansen got the first start of his career on Sunday night, but it has never been clearer that he isn’t ready for starter-level minutes just yet. The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a brutal loss to the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies, and Yang wasn’t even able to crack the 20-minute mark.
Instead, Yang only played 19:13, and the Blazers got blown out by a score of 119-96. The rookie big man finished the game with four points, five rebounds, two assists, and two turnovers while shooting just 2-of-5 from the floor. With Donovan Clingan sidelined, Yang took on a larger role, but it didn’t bode well for Portland.
He’s simply not ready to be a starter in the NBA, but that’s okay.
Yang Hansen isn't ready to be an NBA starter
When Portland picked Yang with the No. 16 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, it came as a surprise to almost everyone. Yet at Summer League, he stood out as a guy with a ton of potential.
But through the early portion of his rookie campaign, it’s become very clear that he is more of a project piece than a win-now guy, and that’s fine. The Blazers had to have known what they were getting into.
Through his first 13 games of NBA action, Yang has played just 7.7 minutes per contest. He has averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists while shooting only 30.0% from the field and 6.3% from deep (1-of-16) on 1.2 three-point attempts per game.
It’s been a pretty brutal start to the year, and unfortunately, when given the chance to start for Portland, he didn’t exactly take advantage of the opportunity.
If anything, it solidified the reality that Yang isn’t ready to be a significant part of an NBA rotation right now. But Portland picked him to be a long-term piece, not a guy who could play right away.
And in his three G League games so far this season, he’s shown some of the same flashes that got Blazers fans excited over the summer when he was playing in Las Vegas.
In three games with the Rip City Remix, Yang has averaged 16.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.0 blocks while shooting 46.3% from the field and 30.8% from deep on 4.3 three-point attempts per game.
Yang isn’t ready to be an NBA starter (and maybe not even a rotation piece). Sunday night against the Grizzlies made that clear. But he still has lots of potential.