The Portland Trail Blazers haven't been in the national spotlight much in the two years since franchise all-time leading scorer Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. But in 2025-26, the Blazers won't just be in the national spotlight with Lillard back on the roster (though not expected to play this season) they will be in the international spotlight as the Yang Hansen experience is set to rock PDX.
Over 1.4 billion people live in China. I don't think every one of them will be tuned into Yang Hansen's NBA debut next month... but if Summer League was any indication, it might be close. Hansen was already a smash hit in Summer League. From Ben Golliver of The Washington Post back in July:
"Back in China, 5.2 million people watched Tencent’s free broadcast of the Blazers’ exhibition against the Memphis Grizzlies, according to an NBA official, dwarfing the 1.1 million Americans who watched No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg’s debut for the Dallas Mavericks on ESPN"
Again, that was Summer League! The interest in Yang will only grow exponentially when the regular season begins. He'll be on the court — he's likely in line to be Portland's regular backup center this year — and that will be enough to draw interest. If he impresses, that might cause delirium. From Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report on The Athletic NBA Daily podcast:
"I kinda knew that, like, it was gonna be a big deal, but being down in Vegas and seeing, like, how much fan interest there was in him, and seeing how much media coverage from China there was in him, just for Summer League, I don't think people are, even still, even after we've been talking about it all summer, I don't think people are prepared for how big of a deal it's going to be if he's even, you know, a rotation player."
Blazers might become the World's Team if Yang Hansen succeeds
Round-trip flights from Beijing to PDX (the best airport in the country, for the record) are about $1,100 usually. I have a feeling that flight will become more popular throughout the NBA season if Yang shows off the footwork, passing, and finishing he gave us a taste of at Summer League.
Is Portland prepared for so many eyes to be on its team this year? We'll see! Even in the eight straight seasons the Blazers made the postseason under Terry Stotts, they were never the center of attention. That's bound to happen when you play so far, geographically, from any other NBA team and never really had a chance to win it all — we'll never forget that WCF run, though.
Why be America's team when you can be the World's team? The Blazers might not be ready for the storm of attention they're about to get because of their most recent first-round pick, but after years of not being in much spotlight at all, maybe this will be a nice change of pace.