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Yang Hansen’s teammates are so inspiring! He almost became an undrafted NBA draft pick, but he counterattacked and got an 82 million contract.

11:22pm, 21 October 2025【Basketball】

The Trail Blazers officially announced that the team has reached a four-year, $82 million early contract extension with forward Toumani Kamara. Kamara is the No. 52 pick in 2023 and almost became an NBA undrafted player. But now he has received a big contract and has become an inspirational model. How did he write a counterattack story?

Kamara is a Belgian, born in Brussels on May 8, 2000. He is 2.03 meters tall and plays the role of small forward. In 2019, he left his hometown and came to the United States to join the University of Dayton to compete in the NCAA. In college, he averaged 11 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1 steal, and 0.8 blocks per game. He shot 51.3% from the field, 30.7% from the three-point field, and 63.1% from the free throw line.

In 2023, he signed up for the NBA draft. After graduating from college, he was already 23 years old when he participated in the draft. He was an older rookie and his three-point shooting rate was not high. As a result, his name was not mentioned for a long time until he got the No. 1 draft. The Suns selected him with the 52nd overall pick, so he did not become an undrafted player. However, he did not get the opportunity to play for the Suns. He came to the City of Tear in a three-way trade between the Suns, Bucks and Trail Blazers, which instead provided him with a good opportunity to write a counterattack story.

After sending away Lillard, the Trail Blazers entered the rebuilding stage, and discovering young players with potential was the main task. Head coach Billups used a large number of young people. As the No. 52 pick, Kamara got some playing opportunities. He was known for his defense in college. Knowing that fringe players do not have the ball, they must do a good job defensively in training and games to gain the trust of the coach. After finding his right position, he played better and better in his rookie season, playing more and more games and playing time. In the end, he played 70 games and started 49 of them.

In 24.8 minutes of playing time, he averaged 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, plus 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks. He shot 45% from the field, but only 33.7% from the three-point range. , he worked hard on shooting during the offseason, and last season he improved his three-point shooting percentage to 37.5%. Other statistics also improved. He averaged 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. He shot 45.8% from the field and was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team.

In just two seasons, Kamara became the top 3D player in the NBA. He has a height of 2.03 meters and a wingspan of 2.14 meters. He has a lateral agility of 10.7 seconds, a steal rate of 2.3%, and a block rate of 1.8%. Many defensive statistics rank at the forefront of the league. He has very good defensive flexibility, and his movement and wingspan allow him to defend multiple positions. As he developed the three-point ability, he has become the most popular puzzle player in the league.

Just for defense and three-pointers, he is worth a four-year, $82 million contract, but he can do more than these two. His rebounding ability is good, averaging 5.8 rebounds per game, of which 1.9 are offensive rebounds. He also has a certain assist ability, averaging 2.2 assists per game, which shows that after receiving the ball, he does not shoot mechanically, but makes shooting or passing decisions based on the situation on the court. He has the ability to distribute the ball twice. If he continues to evolve, he has a bright future.

After the news of Kamara's contract extension came out, the reporter talked about this topic when interviewing Yang Hansen. Yang Hansen said that Kamara worked very hard in training, played very hard in the game, and also provided him with a lot of help in daily life. They are like brothers. He was happy that Kamara got the big contract.

As the saying goes, hard work rewards hard work. I hope Yang Hansen can follow Kamara's example, work hard to make up for his shortcomings, and make a name for himself as soon as possible to get a bigger contract. His starting point is higher than Kamara, so he must seize the opportunity to perform well. The NBA is very cruel. The more times you disappoint the coach, the chance will be gone. Come on!