Trail Blazers Preparing for Yang Hansen's Summer League Debut

📍LAS VEGAS — Yang Hansen won't make his Trail Blazers Summer League debut for another 24 hours, but the lead-up is already an event.

Roughly two dozen Chinese reporters crowded into a small gym in the basement of Cox Pavilion for the Blazers' first practice in Las Vegas on Thursday morning. That's about triple the contingent there was at the team's practices in Portland last week.

This much media attention is new to him, and he hasn't even played a game yet.

"It's a lot of pressure in front of the cameras," Yang said through his translator. "I don't want to make any mistakes."

The media-circus part of Yang's NBA career isn't the only thing that will take getting used to.

For one thing, he's never played for a team with an equipment manager to wash his practice gear for him.