The Portland Trail Blazers put together a fine run during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas this month. While the group finished with a losing 2-3 record, the three losses came by a combined margin of just 13 points, and the largest defeat among the three came in overtime.
Sandwiched in between the losses, the Trail Blazers ripped apart the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-84 and held off the Denver Nuggets for a 108-101 win.
With the Blazers making no first- or second-round picks in June’s NBA Draft, second-year
big man Yang Hansen was the undoubted centerpiece of Portland’s Summer League roster for the second consecutive year. Yang once again showed off the blend of creative passing, nifty footwork, size and soft touch that underlines his potential, while looking a little leaner, stronger and quicker than last summer. He also continued to show some of his flaws that you hope improve with more development, such as a pension for turnovers and the need to get even quicker on the defensive end.
Through four appearances (Yang missed the team’s second game due to an illness), the 21-year-old averaged 13 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 4.3 turnovers per game while shooting 56.8% from the field and 44.4% on 3-pointers. The highlight of the four-game run came when Yang produced a highlight reel-worthy 18 points (7-8 shooting), 10 rebounds and five assists during Portland’s rout of the Timberwolves.
Along with Yang, the Summer League roster also featured Trail Blazers two-way players Chris Youngblood and Jayson Kent. The 6-foot-4 Youngblood rebounded from a rough first two games shooting the basketball to ultimately average 11 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 36.7% from the field and 23.3% on 3s through five games. The 6-foot-8 Kent averaged 11 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 40% from the field and 30% from beyond the 3-point arc.
With Portland’s Summer League now in the rearview mirror, what did you make of the team’s run this time around? What takeaways did you have about the performances of Yang and the two-way guys and how they could factor into Portland’s upcoming 2026-27 season? Did any of the other players stand out as somebody the Blazers should take a longer look at, possibly with that third and final two-way slot? Let us know in the comments below!
