Yang Hansen delivered an impressive performance on the first day of training camp! The head coach praised him but also pointed out some shortcomings: he has not yet fully adapted to the pace.

On October 1st Beijing time, during the first day of the Trail Blazers' training camp, Yang Hansen stood out and earned recognition from head coach Billups. In the post-training interview, Billups spoke about Yang Hansen.

A reporter asked Billups about Hansen’s performance on the first day of camp. Billups said, “He performed well today and was very focused in practice. On offense, his screens were of high quality, and he showed some playmaking ability, but the game’s tempo is still a bit fast for him. I’m quite sure he hasn’t fully adjusted to our pace yet. However, he has great court sense and basketball IQ, so he doesn’t seem out of place. On defense, he had a fantastic block today — I keep emphasizing to him the importance of protecting the rim and finding the right defensive position. With his height, he’s fully capable of making such defensive plays and will definitely excel in this area in the future. Besides that, he grabbed a good number of rebounds. Overall, it was a great day.”

Yang Hansen is currently working hard on learning English and has even taught Lillard some Chinese, getting along well with the whole team. Billups was also asked about communication with Yang Hansen.

Billups responded, “It’s going quite smoothly. Today, I had to stop practice a few times for various reasons; once was because he was a bit confused about a certain tactic, so I paused to explain it to him in detail. But I do this with everyone, not just him — even players who speak English well and fully understand the tactics, I still take time to guide them patiently. Teaching is essentially part of the process, and basketball itself is a universal language, isn’t it?”

Previously, the odds for the new season’s Rookie of the Year were updated, with Yang Hansen (+1600) rising to 6th place, behind the first overall pick Flag (-175), second pick Harper (+700), sixth pick Trey Johnson (+800), fifth pick Bailey (+800), and third pick Achukum (+900). Of course, external expectations don’t necessarily help Yang Hansen and might even add some pressure. He needs to keep adapting to the game and strive for more playing time.