The Trail Blazers' rookie training camp is renowned, and in the days after it opened, numerous media outlets would camp out and conduct interviews at the entrance of the Willamette University training hall almost every day.
Most of them came for Gan Guoyang; he is the only NBA superstar of his age who still often accompanies rookies in training.
Initially, the Trail Blazers' rookie camp was primarily for training rookies and selecting some short-contract players to supplement the roster. With the improvement of the summer league, many teams no longer hold rookie camps separately.
However, the Trail Blazers have become unique due to Gan Guoyang's regular participation each year. Except for the 1993 season, he has willingly trained and guided the rookies every other season.
His famous line, "You are the worst batch of rookies I've ever coached," has spread throughout the league, and many undrafted young players want to come to prove they're not the worst.
