A smile on his face and tapping his two fingers on his wrist to indicate ‘Dame Time’. That is all that Yang Hansen needed to do to highlight his excitement at getting to play with Damian Lillard. After weeks of speculation about where the veteran would go next after being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks, he made Portland Trail Blazers fans the happiest by returning to his old franchise. The Blazers have changed quite a lot since Lillard last played for them, which would contribute significantly to an adjustment period. However, Lillard won’t have to start from scratch when adjusting to Yang Hansen. After all, thanks to a mutual connection, the veteran has had his eye on ‘Chinese Jokic’ for a while.
Damian Lillard recently sat down for an interview with Casey Holdahl. During the same, the interviewer asked the former Bucks star’s thoughts on Yang Hansen after the summer league. After all, not only was Hansen Lillard’s new teammate, but the latter must have also noticed him when he toured China throughout the years for Adidas. This led the NBA star to reveal, “Yeah, I mean he…. I didn’t know much about him before. One of my assistants in Milwaukee, my first year, actually coached him, I think, in China. And he spoke highly of him as soon as they picked him, but I hadn’t, you know, seen much, and then watching him during Summer League, I was like, ‘This a real player’”.
Lillard even went on to say that the Chinese Basketball player has “swag”. Well, we can assume that when Hansen heard that, he would have swooned. With Dame not going into any further detail about that mystery assistant coach, it is hard to pinpoint his exact identity. However, whoever it was, we can thank him for laying the seed about Yang Hansen in Lillard’s mind.
Therefore, when going back to the Portland Trail Blazers, the 9x NBA All-Star will have at least one backup player he knows he can rely on.
“He got some swag to him.”
Had to get @Dame_Lillard’s thought on his new rookie teammate @Hans15Y after his official re-introductory press conference pic.twitter.com/ytbpsTEjpA
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) July 22, 2025
Yang Hansen has certainly been making waves after being drafted 16th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. During the recent NBA 2K26 Summer League, he participated in 4 games and averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. From the field, he was knocking down 45.7% of his shots, hitting 33.3% from deep, and recording 87.5% successful free throws. This made him better than Nikola Jokic, who averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across 5 games in his sole Summer League run back in 2015.
Speaking of Nikola Jokic, NBA reporter Jake Fischer once posted that a source referred to after Yang once as “Chinese Jokić.” The summer league stats and the similarity of the offensive prowess in both players certainly prove that. However, Hansen had to adjust to the pace of the game and the size of his opponents. On top of that, his rebounding does need a little improvement. Therefore, it is too early to say whether Lillard and Hansen will gel well together. At least they have mutual respect, which is a good start!
Yang Hansen isn’t the only one excited about the prospect of getting to play with Damian Lillard. Over the last few days, other players, including Scoot Henderson, have been making their feelings known.
Scoot Henderson is ‘super excited’ to team up with Damian Lillard despite reality check
Renowned sportswriter Zach Lowe recently discussed Damian Lillard’s shift, which led to the question of what Scoot Henderson might think about it. Lillard’s acquisition by the Portland Trail Blazers is, overall, a good thing for the franchise. However, whenever a veteran star is brought in, some unwanted adjustments are made.
With Lillard and Henderson playing in the same position, someone will have to adopt a smaller role. That, however, is a matter to be discussed later. After all, when discussing Henderson’s reaction to Lillard returning, Lowe said, “He was super excited; he didn’t feel threatened at all. There was kind of an underlying idea of ‘if I were Scoot, I’d be mad’… but he’s going to have all the court in the world to take off.”
Either Scoot Henderson is willing to simply focus on the now, or is unaware of the true implications of Lillard’s acquisition. Fans might remember how, initially, it was believed that Scoot Henderson’s acquisition in the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery likely prompted Lillard’s departure. In the last 2 years, Henderson has failed to make a case for his prowess, having averaged just 13.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in the last 2 seasons. He finished in the 48th percentile in assist rate among point guards last season, and has been criticized for his ability to navigate traffic, make smart decisions. Therefore, in a field of 3-point guards, aka Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Henderson, one has to go.
Damian Lillard’s arrival is set to change things in a significant way for the Portland Trail Blazers. ‘Chinese Jokic’ can get a mentor, while one point guard will have to be sacrificed. This only increases the anticipation as to what the upcoming days will look like.
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