Portland Trail Blazers Sign Guard John Tongji to Two-Way Contract

The Portland Trail Blazers are strengthening their roster around Israeli player Deni Avdija by signing guard John Tongji to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania. This deal allows Tongji to split time between Portland's NBA team and its G League affiliate. Tongji, standing 1.93 meters tall, was selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Boston Celtics.

During his rookie season, Tongji appeared in only six games for Boston, averaging 2.5 points in seven minutes per game. Most of his time was spent in the NBA G League, where he posted strong stats: 18.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over 43 games, shooting 37.1% from three-point range. Prior to joining the NBA, Tongji had a notable college career at Colorado State, Missouri, and Wisconsin, finishing his final season at Wisconsin with averages of 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Tongji’s signing fills Portland’s third and final two-way contract slot, joining Chris Youngblad and Jason Kante, who also hold two-way deals with the team. This move aims to provide depth and flexibility to the Trail Blazers’ lineup as they build around Avdija.