The Portland Trail Blazers were well-represented at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles this year.
Portland forward Deni Avdija competed in the main event on Sunday, giving the franchise its first All-Star since Damian Lillard in 2023. Lillard claimed his third 3-Point Contest title on Saturday, despite not playing in a game this season as he recovers from a torn Achilles. Portland centers Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen both scored the rock in Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge.
Along with the basketball,
All-Star Weekend is packed with media availability sessions for the participants. In case you missed them, here’s a round-up of interviews from the weekend featuring Clingan and Yang, with some notable quotes highlighted from each video. (Here’s an earlier post featuring interviews with Lillard and Avdija).
Yang Hansen
Friday’s media availability session (before the Rising Stars Challenge):
Yang on how this experience has been for him so far (via his interpreter):
New season, new experience everyday. I notice how much I’m behind everyone here, so I try to just work hard every day and be better every day.
On his thoughts about Lillard competing in the 3-Point Competition and his relationship with Avdija:
I saw [Lillard] everyday in the facility. He makes almost every shot every time when he shoots the ball, so I have nothing to say to him. Just ‘go get a trophy.’ Deni is a great, great vet for me. He really helps me because I come from overseas just like him six years ago. So on English, on daily life, he always gives me good suggestions, so I just follow him every time.
Yang’s full postgame interview on Friday isn’t available for embedding in this article, but you can find it at this link. Here are some quotes from that session:
Yang on how he felt about his performance:
A lot of fun out there. A lot of fun. I got a longer warm-up today, so I felt good.
On who he had the most fun playing with during the Rising Stars Challenge (Yang answered this question in English):
I tried to [show] everybody my ‘Chinglish.’ Everybody was very happy listening to my Chinglish.
Yang also went viral during this interview when he talked about the possibility of seeing his idol Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic:
Donovan Clingan
Friday’s media availability session (before the Rising Stars Challenge):
Clingan on if he can unlock another level to his game:
Yeah, I feel like as I grow, as I get better, as I learn how to maneuver in this league, I feel like I’m just gonna continue to get better. I’m gonna continue to put the work in, and I feel like that’s just gonna help my confidence level go up.
On his relationship with Avdija:
Me and Deni are really close. We’ve become really good, close friends off the court. He’s a pleasure to be around. We have a lot of fun joking around, and we know how to turn it on and be serious when the game starts.
