Trail Blazers Recall Rookie Yang Hansen Ahead of Suns Showdown

The Portland Trail Blazers pulled Yang Hansen off the bench of their G League affiliate and back into the NBA spotlight — not for a breakout performance, but for the quiet, calculated calculus of development. On Monday, November 17, 2023, the 19-year-old Chinese center, a 7-foot-1 first-round pick from the 2023 NBA Draft, was recalled from the Rip City Remix just hours before Portland’s home game against the Phoenix Suns at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The move wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t even guaranteed to mean minutes on Tuesday night. But for a team rebuilding in the shadows of last season’s playoff hopes, it was textbook.

Why Recall a Rookie Who Averages Less Than Six Minutes?

Yang Hansen has played just five NBA games so far. His average? 5.8 minutes per contest. He’s shot 3-for-8 from the field. He’s grabbed six rebounds total. On paper, he’s not the answer to Portland’s frontcourt woes. But basketball isn’t played on paper. It’s played in locker rooms, in practice courts, and in the quiet moments between games when a coach decides a kid needs to be around the veterans — even if he doesn’t play.

Interim head coach Tiago Splitter, who took over after Chauncey Billups was fired on November 1, has made it clear he’s not just chasing wins. He’s chasing growth. With starting center Scoot Henderson (yes, that’s right — the guard is listed as the starter, a sign of Portland’s positional flexibility) and backups Robert Williams III and Larry Nance Jr. rotating through, the Blazers needed insurance. The Suns, averaging 52.3 rebounds per game through eight contests, bring Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkić — a frontcourt duo that can crush smaller lineups. Hansen’s height, mobility, and raw defensive instincts made him the logical emergency option.

The G League Isn’t a Punishment — It’s a Curriculum

Hansen was sent down to the Rip City Remix on November 15, just two days before his recall. He played two games, logging 12 total minutes. He didn’t dominate. He didn’t need to. The goal was exposure — to the pace, the physicality, the rhythm of pro basketball outside the glare of national TV. Now he’s back, not because he’s ready to start, but because the Blazers want him breathing the same air as NBA veterans.

"We’ve had a scout identify him during one of his under-18 events," Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin told ESPN after the draft. "We saw him at the combine, met with him, brought him in for a workout. We had a big advantage in building our book on him." That book now includes not just stats, but habits: how he responds to criticism, how he handles fatigue, how he moves without the ball. Those are the things you can’t measure on a box score.

What Happens Wednesday? The Back-to-Back Factor

Tuesday’s game against the Suns was just the first leg of a home back-to-back. Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls roll into town. And here’s where the real logic kicks in: Robert Williams III, Portland’s primary backup center, has missed the second game of back-to-backs in 7 of his last 9 such stretches. That’s not injury — it’s management. It’s rest. It’s strategy.

If Williams sits, Hansen isn’t just depth — he’s next in line. And even if he only plays eight minutes, that’s eight minutes against an NBA rotation, not a G League team. That’s eight minutes learning how to set screens on Zach LaVine, how to guard Alex Caruso in the pick-and-roll, how to handle the noise of a crowd that’s rooting for a win — not just a prospect.

Ownership, Structure, and the Long Game

The Portland Trail Blazers operate under a two-way contract with Hansen, a structure that allows unlimited movement between NBA and G League rosters. That’s rare. Most teams treat the G League as a dumping ground. Portland treats it like a graduate program. The Rip City Remix doesn’t play again until November 23 — giving Hansen a full week of NBA practices, film sessions, and locker room conversations before he’s sent back down. That’s intentional.

"It’s not about minutes now," said one anonymous assistant coach. "It’s about presence. He needs to know what it feels like to be part of this. Not just a body on the bench. A future piece."

What’s Next for Yang Hansen?

He’s not the next Yao Ming. He’s not even the next Jusuf Nurkić. But he might be the next player Portland gets right — the one they draft, nurture, and trust enough to let him fail in public, then bring back to try again. The Blazers are 3-6. The season is slipping. But for a franchise rebuilding from the ground up, the real wins aren’t on the scoreboard. They’re in the quiet moments — when a 19-year-old from China steps onto the court, looks around, and realizes he belongs.