Think Out Loud High hopes for Portland Trail Blazers as new season kicks off
The Portland Trail Blazers’ first game of the 2025-2026 NBA regular season tips off tomorrow at the Moda Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Blazers’ roster this season consists of several exciting new additions, including rookie Yang Hansen. The Blazers selected the 7-foot-1 center from China as the 16th-overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft in June.
Less than a month later, ESPN broke the news that Damian Lillard had agreed to return to the Blazers on a three-year, $42 million contract. The Blazers traded Lillard in 2023 to the Milwaukee Bucks, at his request, after Lillard spent 11 years playing in Portland without winning a championship trophy. Lillard’s time with the Bucks ended after he tore his Achilles tendon during the first-round of the NBA playoffs in the spring.
The start of the Blazers’ new season coincides with an out-of-court settlement that clears the way for the team’s sale to a group of wealthy investors led by Tom Dundon, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team. Last month, the estate of Paul Allen announced it had entered a formal agreement to sell the Blazers to Dundon, pending approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors. Mike Richman, host of the “Locked On Blazers” podcast, joins us to preview the new season and the hopes and uncertainties lying ahead.