Yang Hansen has had a rollercoaster of an NBA journey since the Portland Trail Blazers shocked draft experts by landing the seven-foot-one centre from China with the No. 16 overall pick in June.

The 20-year-old has only played in a handful of minutes since the Blazers recalled him from their G League affiliate Rip City Remix, and didn’t see any action as his team lost a close game against the Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday.

“Of course everything is new for him,” Portland interim head coach Tiago Splitter said prior to tipoff. “You know, different language, different culture, different game, different speed. So he’s adapting to that.”

The Blazers acquired Yang in a draft-night deal that saw them send Cedric Coward (their selection with the 11th pick) to Memphis for Yang, a 2028

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