Timmy: Yang Hansen has been outstanding in the development league, and I encourage him to keep up this momentum.

On January 18th, Beijing time, the Lakers were defeated 116-132 by the Trail Blazers. Both Ayton and Hayes missed the game due to injuries. Timmy received close to 30 minutes of playing time, making 9 out of 12 shots and 3 out of 4 three-pointers, tallying 21 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Postgame, he spoke about his improvements and his encounters with Yang Hansen in the development league.

“It feels great to see my hard work paying off. That’s exactly the value of the development league,” Timmy said. “This year with the South Bay Lakers, they constantly pushed me in training. Thanks to their support, my skills haven’t gotten rusty. So whenever the team needs me, I’m ready. The experience in the development league keeps me in game shape and prepares me for moments like this. You never know when an opportunity will come, so you have to be ready at all times. My teammates have really helped me a lot, and improving myself while fulfilling any task given by the team is simply part of being a player.”

A reporter asked Timmy: “We noticed you exchanged a few words with Yang Hansen on the court. Could you share what you talked about?”

Timmy replied: “This year, I faced him a few times in the development league. I just greeted him and gave him some encouragement. A few days ago, he had an impressive performance in a development league game, so I told him to keep up that momentum.”

“He’s a really good person with a great personality. You always hope that kind people will succeed, so I sincerely congratulated him on his recent achievements in the development league.”

In this game, Yang Hansen entered the court with 3 minutes and 28 seconds remaining but didn’t get any opportunities to shoot. His only recorded stat was a traveling violation. However, in his last two development league games, he averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds, showing efficient performance.