Portland Trail Blazers center Yang Hansen drew the spotlight in the team’s 81-79 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night in Las Vegas, and his Summer League debut gave a little bit of everything: promise, polish and a few reminders that he’s still learning the NBA game.
Yang finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes, and the box score showed the kind of all-around line that makes him such an intriguing player for Portland. He also added four assists, though he turned it over four times and picked up four fouls. He shot 5-for-10 from the field, hit 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and went 0-for-1 at the line.
What jumps out first with Yang is the footwork. For a 7-foot big man, he moves with real purpose, and that shows up on both ends of the floor. It’s a big part of why he was viewed as a first-round pick, and it’s the trait that gives Portland fans something to hang onto as he starts this next step.
The passing is real too. Yang’s four assists weren’t empty numbers; several came from smart reads and high-IQ decisions. That kind of feel can help him as he tries to climb the depth chart.
But the game also showed where the rough edges are. Yang isn’t yet using his size as forcefully as he needs to, and that mattered against Phoenix. The matchup with fellow 2025 first-round pick Khaman Maluach was a useful test, especially since Maluach already has a year of NBA experience under his belt.
Maluach’s strength gave Yang problems in the paint, and 2026 first-round pick Koa Peat also bothered him at times. If Yang is getting pushed around like that in Summer League, the regular season is going to be a much tougher assignment.
That doesn’t mean the issue is permanent. Yang is only 21, so there’s still time for him to add strength and settle into the physical demands of the league.
There were also a few moments that underlined how raw he still is. Both teams struggled from three-point range, combining to shoot 15 for 64, and Maluach knocked down three of his triples while Yang was guarding him. On those possessions, Yang didn’t close out with much resistance.
That’s the kind of detail that will matter if he wants to earn a rotation spot in Portland. His perimeter defense should improve as he gets stronger and better conditioned, but the pressure is there too, with only this year guaranteed on his contract.
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Cookes night was the kind that makes a front office replay a decision in its head, especially when a close game is decided by a handful of possessions. Portland had already moved on with other two-way options, but Cookes performance in Vegas gave the Suns a useful answer and left the Blazers with another reminder that roster churn in July can come back to sting in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
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