Trail Blazers reporter Reese Kunz posted a message about Yang Hansen's debut, saying that it was a big test against Gobert.

NBA recently announced the schedule for the 2025-26 season. The Trail Blazers will face the Timberwolves at home. Yang Hansen may face the four best defensive player Rudy Gobert. The Trail Blazers need to pass this game to test the non-traditional rookie they selected in the first round.

Yang Hansen performed well in the summer league, averaging 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Despite this, there are still some critics who believe he is accustomed to playing CBA games and may not be able to transition smoothly to the more competitive NBA, which is physically against stronger physically. However, if Yang Hansen can carry on the good performance of the summer league into the regular season, the Trail Blazers’ draft decision will become undisputed.

Yang Hansen's offensive skills are perfect for fighting top basket protectors like Gobert. His shooting ability is keeping progress and already poses a threat on the outside, which will force Gobert to expand the defense and thus create more offensive opportunities for the Blazers. In addition, his excellent stadium vision will also help the team find more opportunities to score easily when facing the Timberwolves, which ranked sixth in defensive efficiency last season (110.8 points per 100 leg).

Trail Blazers head coach Changxi Billups once said: "We can let him Yang Hansen play now. He is very good. I don't think he is a player who needs to be trained for a long time."

Therefore, not only will we see Yang Hansen's performance soon, but he will also face the test of Gobert and the Timberwolves immediately. Although it is impossible to fully judge whether this draft is successful based on just one game, we can at least have a preliminary understanding of how much Yang Hansen integrates into the Trail Blazers lineup and whether he can gain a foothold in the NBA. If he can show his summer league level against Gobert, it will be hard to question his strength.

There is no doubt that this will be a highly anticipated debut. Yang Hansen's debut in the summer league attracted 5.2 million Chinese audiences, and this more important game will undoubtedly attract more attention.