Yang Hansen, I will protect you next season

The process of reporting to the team is similar to all rookies. Yang Hansen and translator Liu Yucheng got the Trail Blazers No. 16 jersey with his surname printed on the general manager's office. Then head coach Billups led Yang Hansen to the locker room and introduced the 20-year-old man from China to the team members. They also shook hands with their new teammate.

Then, Danny Avdia and Yang Hansen had a big hug. And from the former's eyes and movements, it seems that the meaning is revealed:

"Xiao Yang, I will cover you next season."

Although Avdia is also a 24-year-old young man, he only came to Portland in 2024. But in this young pioneer formation, Avdia is already the big brother who can speak.

The reporters responsible for reporting on the daily affairs of the Trail Blazers praised the mature basketball player for his steady leadership and solid professional ethics. Everything seems chaotic and disorderly among the Trail Blazers who haven't found their season goals last season, and coaches need to rely on Avdia to gather morale and stabilize the locker room on some occasions.

The Trail Blazers were able to stabilize their direction in the long season of 82 regular season games, in which Avdia played a captain-like role.

During the 2019 U20 European Championships, the precocious Avdia has already stood out among her peers. The decent conversation and a considerable degree of patience made the reporters feel that he didn't look like the second youngest brat in this competition at all.

But in fact, before coming to Portland, Avdia did not show his side. In 2020, Avdia's rookie season, he was selected by the Wizards who had the strength to compete for the playoffs at the time, which also means that the Wizards who "win in the present" revolve around Westbrook and Bill as cores, rather than building a new team like the teams in which most lottery shows are located.

The voice of rookies is really limited.

And in the second year of the Wizards, although Westbrook was traded to the Lakers, the arrival of Kuzma, Pope, Dinwiddie, and Porzingis, who joined the trading day, made Avdia not only sandwiched between several older brothers in the actual tactical system, swaying on the edge of the ball; in the locker room and outside the court, it was difficult for him to have any say.

Until the summer of 2023, Captain Bill's departure announced that the Wizards had officially entered a new stage of reconstruction. Although Avdia, who was still holding a rookie contract at the time, did not become the core of the Wizards' new team, he had begun to try to do more work, such as helping rookies adapt to the long season that spanned more than half a year, and helping them learn how to become a professional player.

2023 French rookies Coulibali and Anthony Gill said they missed General Avdia who led him to have a meal. Kulibali said they were always inseparable, "He gave me a lot of help regardless of the game."

Bryan Keefe, a member of the Wizards' coaching team at that time, had a deep impression of Avdia. He felt that although Avdia was young, he had a personality that could make everyone integrate. This is probably why, even though Avdia has moved to the Trail Blazers, he is still in touch with some staff members, including Brian Keefe.

In the summer of 2024, Avdia, who originally thought he would become a member of Washington's core team, miscalculated his value. He was traded by the Wizards in an extremely cheap way when the market opened on July 6, which was less than a year since he renewed his contract with the Wizards.

Avdia, who was resting in his hometown in Israel at that time, felt a little sad. He felt that the emotions and efforts he had put in Washington were futile. "The friendship that I built with my teammates, fans, and the community disappeared in that moment."

But this is the world of adults, resorting to interests is greater than appealing to emotions. This is especially true for professional players, and Avdia also needs to learn to use this model to see everything he has experienced in the professional league. Although his four years of hard work in Washington were denied by a cheap deal, Portland, who was willing to accept him, opened a new window for him.

Avdia said that he received a different trust from usual on his first day in Portland. Billups and his coaching team regarded him as the core of the offensive end, giving him a completely different degree of freedom, so that Avdia would not have to worry about being criticized by the coach every time he made a move or made a mistake.

Trust can be a bridge between people, and when Avdia realizes one day that the Trail Blazers coaches appreciate his abilities and allow him to use his talents, Avdia begins to liberate his traits as a captain. He doesn't need to feel embarrassed about directing loudly or pointing out his teammates' mistakes on the court, nor does he need to worry about whether he annoyed veterans with more qualifications because he said too much.

In the young team created by Billups, everyone executes the instructions with the concept of selfless dedication. Avdia, who always focuses on various subtleties and does not compete for it, is to some extent a model for the players and has won the respect of his teammates.

Reporters who followed the Trail Blazers said that although Avdia had not played for a full season in the Trail Blazers, young players have gradually gathered together to learn from him how to become a better professional player.

Isn’t this what everyone calls the captain?

Under this friendly environment, Avdia is also getting better. Billups gave him, who has been improving his ball-handling skills all summer, and has more rights to organize the ball.. The facts also prove that Billups' vision has not gone astray:

Although he seemed a little unacceptable to the local situation when he first came to Portland, before 2025, Avdia averaged only 13.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, but after entering 2025, his personal data began to rise to an average of 19.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, which was close to the 20+5+5 star threshold.

What is even more pleasing is that the Trail Blazers scored a 50% winning rate in 2025, with Avdia, whose positive and negative value increased from -6.2 to +3.0, making a great contribution.

Many real "30-year Trail Blazers fans" said that Avdia is now "the best player of the Trail Blazers".

So, if Avdia could cover Yang Hansen, it would probably help Xiao Yang better integrate into this unfamiliar environment.

Just like Boss Fu was surrounded by the young Yao Ming.

Moreover, Avdia may have more similarities with Xiao Yang than between Francis and Yao Ming.

Yang Hansen, who was selected in the 16th pick in 2025, carries the unlimited expectations of all Chinese fans; and Avdia, who ranked 9th pick in 2020, has the same status in Israel. Every media will pay attention to Avdia's every move in the NBA, regardless of whether they have a sports sector.

Local sports reporter Moshe Harrickman shared a more interesting change in the wind - "About 10 years ago, Israeli youths went to Barcelona to watch Messi's game as a commemoration after the coming-of-age ceremony, but now they have become going to the United States to watch Avdia play."

Avdia was not trained by the American basketball system. On the one hand, he inherited the height of his Serbian father and on the other hand, he inherited the track and field talent of his Israeli mother. He grew up under the youth training system of Tel Aviv, and was able to play in the adult team at the age of 17, becoming the youngest first-team member in the history of Tel Aviv. Chris Johnson, trainer in Los Angeles, said that Young's advantage is that she has played professional basketball for longer than her peers. This is even more true for Avdia. Rather than saying that he is similar to Xiao Yang, Avdiana's script is more like Doncic - he is a crushing peers in the European youth team. He led the team to win the gold medal in the 2019 U20 European Championship and was named the best player in the event; and he was also the best player in the two basketball boundless training camps in 2018 and 2019.

So, some people say that Avdia is like another version of Doncic with blue collar attributes.

Avdia is talented and does not lack diligence. The reason why this Israeli forward can be the core of the Trail Blazers is not only because of the Wizards' misvaluation of him, but also because of his diligent practice. Last summer, Avdia deliberately strengthened his strength to fight, which allowed him to defend from the three-point line to the basket, and also helped him stay fast in the transition to fast breaks while suppressing his opponents; he also studied operational control skills for the upcoming new role, trying to build himself into the next Doncic.

Avdia has a paranoid attitude towards polishing skills, and he does not allow himself to make mistakes due to his loose skills. "From a spiritual perspective, I have never relaxed whether on or off the court."

On July 18, 2019, the Israeli U20 men's basketball team, who played at home, defeated Lithuanian U20 94-78, advanced to the semi-finals, but played for the longest time, played for 33 minutes, and scored 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks. Avdia, who was ubiquitous, was not happy and even a little depressed.

Because, he was not satisfied that he only had 3 of 8 on the free throw line. What's the matter if you can't even do the simplest free throws well?

Avdia believes that free throws should be the most basic job, and he also firmly punishes himself after failing to score free throws. He insisted on practicing free throws after the game, and even if this made him wait until all the audience left the court at 11 o'clock in the evening, he didn't care.

Moreover, this has been a habit he has maintained for a long time. Everyone in Tel Aviv Maccabi has a consensus, "Avdia is the team's hardest-working person." Whether Avdia plays or not, he will practice shooting with personal coach Velico Pelovic after the game.

Yang Hansen is also a stadium rat, like Avdia. Training and competitions occupy most of his daily life, and there is a special tacit understanding between the stadium rat and the stadium rat. Not to mention, both of them carry the infinite expectations of their motherland fans and walk the path of infinite closeness before entering the NBA.

There are probably many common topics between Yang Hansen and Avdia. Even this stranger who is not an American, nor has he grown up in the North American basketball system, but can establish fame step by step in the basketball system at the top of the world. He is the best object for Yang Hansen to ask for advice and learn:

Long away journey, tired interviews and announcements, huge doubts and temptations, cold eyes and ridicule of foreign countries, endless competition and pressure, determination and courage to meet challenges...

I hope Yang Hansen can learn all this from Avdia.