The Trail Blazers officially announced the demotion of Yang Hansen! Averaging 17 points and 9.3 rebounds in the G League, he is likely to play six consecutive home games.

On February 22nd Beijing time, the Trail Blazers announced that Yang Hansen will be sent down to the G League’s Mix squad. This season, Yang has appeared in 8 games for Mix, averaging 17 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game, shooting 51.7% from the field, 28.6% from beyond the arc, and 79.3% from the free throw line.

Starting February 23rd Beijing time, Mix will host six straight home games, facing the Santa Cruz Warriors (two games), Iowa Wolves (two games), and the Salt Lake City Stars (two games). Since Yang has limited playing time with the Trail Blazers and Mix plays at home, he is very likely to manage both teams' games and practices simultaneously.

This season, Yang Hansen has played 35 games for the Trail Blazers, averaging only 7.5 minutes per game, contributing 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists, with shooting percentages of 29.5% from the field, 13.2% from three-point range, and 80.8% from the free throw line.

In yesterday’s game against the Nuggets, Yang Hansen played 8 minutes and 20 seconds, scoring 4 points, grabbing 1 rebound, and blocking 1 shot, shooting 1 for 4 from the field and 2 for 6 from the free throw line. Before the game, Yang had the chance to communicate with his idol, Nikola Jokić. Speaking about this interaction, Yang said, “I’m very happy. I practiced English for over ten minutes just for this meeting and used it all.”

After the game, when asked what he said to Jokić, Yang replied in English: “I said I didn’t really want to kiss you. In China, this means I respect you a lot because I really like you.”

“I started following Jokić when I was in the second year of middle school, around 2018 or 2019. At that time, my coach told me this guy would definitely be a star in the future, so I watched his games every day.”

Regarding what Jokić told him, Yang said: “He shared some stories about his trip to China last year, visiting Beijing and other cities. He told me not to be too nervous, that I’m a good player, and to enjoy the game fully while training hard.” Reflecting on Jokić’s influence, Yang added: “I keep marveling at how he plays on the court. Some things you see in highlights aren’t as detailed as watching live.”

In a previous interview, Trail Blazers’ general manager Cronin also spoke about Yang Hansen.

Cronin said: “Like many rookies, he has ups and downs and is still finding his rhythm. But we really like his attitude on the team. Hansen is very positive, energetic, and can light up the whole room. Our current challenge is to help him grow into the best player he can be. We’re working hard on that. As for his impact, I don’t focus much on specific stats, but sometimes I see summer league viewership info. It’s great to see Chinese fans’ enthusiasm for him and their love for basketball.”

When asked about experts questioning whether the Trail Blazers’ choice of Yang Hansen was purely basketball-related, Cronin responded: “I don’t care. I really don’t care what others say. We only want to build the best basketball team possible. From Jodie Allen to everyone else, selecting him has nothing to do with business decisions.”