After only three games, Billups has already crafted tactics specifically for Yang Hansheng, truly treating him as a core player in the interior.

Yang Hansheng's performance in the NBA has consistently drawn significant attention from many fans. Throughout the three preseason games he played, his overall performance was outstanding, showing continuous improvement in every match and demonstrating his skills in various aspects. In fact, these three games alone have revealed his potential to some NBA coaches. As the head coach of the Trail Blazers, Billups spends every day with Yang Hansheng, observing his training, and knows his potential better than anyone else.

Therefore, you might notice that in the last game, Yang Hansheng actually received tactical instructions from the coaching staff. After the game, Billups mentioned that he gave Yang Hansheng specific tactics during timeouts. This was quite unexpected for fans. It’s rare for a rookie to receive such treatment, especially with many core players on the team. Normally, Yang Hansheng would be expected to play a blue-collar role in his first season. Billups designing tactics for him is essentially an ongoing evaluation of his potential. Deep down, Billups may already be grooming him as a future interior cornerstone.

Yang Hansheng still needs to keep improving throughout the regular season. Fans shouldn’t have overly high expectations for his first year, nor expect him to immediately average double-digit or even 20 points per game. If he can maintain his current preseason averages in his rookie season, that would already be quite impressive. If Yang Hansheng continues to develop, he may gradually mature and reach his career peak by the age of 25. We must be patient with him; he is only a 20-year-old young player who needs more room to grow.

The Trail Blazers are clearly very patient. The skills Yang Hansheng has displayed are ones that many interior players in the league currently lack. His all-around abilities are extremely rare among all interior players in the league—players with such a complete skill set can be counted on one hand. Recently, Boban, who previously played in the CBA, also spoke highly of Yang Hansheng. He is very optimistic about Yang Hansheng’s future in the league. Boban believes Yang Hansheng is very talented and hardworking, and the combination of these two qualities will make him an outstanding player in the future.