The 2025-26 Portland Trail Blazers season unofficially begins Monday, when the team holds its annual media day at the Moda Center.
The rebuilding Blazers return most of the key young pieces from a roster that overachieved in the second half of last season, when the team went 23-18 to surprisingly finish with 36 wins.
But there are some new faces. A franchise icon is back. One of the best perimeter defenders in the league is joining the rotation. And a young Chinese phenom has arrived in the United States.
What will the Blazers look like in 2025-26? In an effort to bring you up to speed, we’re providing a daily snapshot of the roster as media day approaches. Next up: Yang Hansen.
Let the countdown to the 2025-26 season begin.
YANG HANSEN
Measurables: 7-foot-1, 249 pounds
Age: 20
Position: Center
2024-25 stats: 16.6 points, 10.5 Rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.6 blocks (with the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association)
NBA experience: This will be his first NBA season
Contract status: Hansen is entering the first year of a rookie contract that will pay him $4.4 million this season.
Expected role: Backup center
Outlook: Perhaps no Blazers player enters the season with more curiosity — and more question marks — than the rookie from China. How quickly can he adapt to life in the United States? How will he mesh with his new teammates? How fast can he adjust to the speed and talent of the NBA? Can he play as a rookie? And, if so, how much of an impact can he make? Amid all the questions, however, one thing remains clear: Hansen will be given every opportunity to play immediately. The Blazers may have raised a few eyebrows when they traded down in the NBA draft to snatch Hansen at No. 16, but they have long been enamored with his passing, playmaking, skill, touch and basketball intelligence. His ceiling, according to GM Joe Cronin, “is very high.” But while Hansen will be given a long leash to show he’s ready to take on a meaningful role as a rookie, the path to the court won’t come easy. Burgeoning second-year center Donovan Clingan is expected to start, and if veteran big man Robert Williams III can finally overcome a spate of injuries, he will be hard to beat out. The latter is a big if; Williams has been limited to just 26 games the last two seasons. Either way, Hansen’s development will be one of the most intriguing storylines of training camp — and the season.
Previous entries: Rayan Rupert … Blake Wesley … Duop Reath … Damian Lillard … Jrue Holiday … Jerami Grant … Shaedon Sharpe … Scoot Henderson.
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