NBA Reporter Commentary: Yang Hansheng Is Not Yet Ready to Be a Starter, But His Tremendous Potential Is Undeniable

On December 8th Beijing time, NBA reporter Jack Simone published a piece evaluating Yang Hansheng’s inaugural NBA start. He emphasized that Yang is not prepared to take on a starting role in the NBA and has yet to qualify for consistent rotation minutes, though his vast potential cannot be overlooked. Here is Simone’s full report—

Today marked Yang Hansheng’s first career start, but the game also made it clearer to the public that he currently lacks the capability to handle starter-level playing time. The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a heavy defeat on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies, who were missing Morant, and Yang didn’t even reach 20 minutes on the court.

In this game, Yang played just 19 minutes and 13 seconds as his team lost 96-119. The rookie big man shot 2-of-5, contributing 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, along with 2 turnovers. Despite Klingen’s injury forcing Yang to take on more minutes, his performance did not positively impact the Trail Blazers.

He is indeed not ready to be an NBA starter at this time, but that is understandable.

At the 2025 NBA Draft, the Trail Blazers selecting Yang Hansheng with the 16th pick surprised nearly everyone. However, during the Summer League, he showed impressive potential that left fans deeply impressed.

But at the beginning of his rookie season,one fact has become increasingly clear: he is more of a “long-term developmental player” for the team rather than an immediate contributor—and this role in itself is not problematic, as the Trail Blazers likely understood this when they chose him.

In his first 13 NBA regular-season games, Yang has averaged only 7.7 minutes per game, putting up 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists, with an overall shooting percentage of just 30.0%. From beyond the arc, he has made 1 out of 16 attempts, a 6.3% three-point shooting rate, averaging 1.2 three-point attempts per game.

The start of this season has been quite challenging for him, and inthe game where he earned a starting spot with the Trail Blazers, he failed to seize the opportunity well. This clearly demonstrates the reality that Yang is currently unable to be a significant part of an NBA team’s rotation.However, when the Trail Blazers drafted him, they intended him as a long-term building block rather than a ready-to-play immediate asset.

It is worth noting that,in this season’s 3 G League games, he has already shown flashes reminiscent of his impressive Summer League performances that caught the Trail Blazers fans’ attention . Playing for the Rip City Remix in the G League, Yang has averaged 16.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game, with an overall shooting percentage of 46.3% and a three-point shooting rate of 30.8% (attempting 4.3 three-pointers per game).

Yang Hansheng is not yet ready to be an NBA starter (he hasn’t even met regular rotation standards), and today’s game against the Grizzlies fully proved this point. But undeniably, he still holds tremendous potential .