Chris Youngblood’s first dozen games of the 2025-26 season were defined by a desperate, mostly fruitless search to justify an NBA roster spot. When he actually peeled off his warmups, the on-court results were routinely disastrous. Look no further than his stint on 11/08 vs SAC, where he posted a staggering -15.2 impact score. That abysmal rating stemmed from eight completely empty minutes of cardio, missing both of his shot attempts while failing to record a single rebound or assist. Even his absolute peak was technically a net negative. During an 11/02 vs NOP matchup, Youngblood managed to hit a pair of threes for six points, yet still finished with a -2.0 impact score because his brief seven-minute appearance yielded zero assists and just one rebound, offering zero secondary value. He closed this brutal stretch on 11/13 vs LAL with another ghost-like performance, logging a -8.1 impact score after missing his only shot and grabbing just a single rebound in eight minutes. If you cannot score, defend, or facilitate in limited action, the far end of the bench is exactly where you belong.

Chris Youngblood spent this eleven-game stretch trapped in the deepest corners of the rotation, logging empty minutes that actively hurt his team. During an eight-minute stint on 11/24 vs POR, he forced up two bad looks from deep, missed both, and finished with a brutal -10.7 Impact score. That abysmal rating stems directly from his poor shot selection and a complete failure to generate defensive stops. Even when he managed to score, like his five-point burst on 11/22 vs UTA, his overall influence remained firmly in the red with a -3.9 Impact. A glaring lack of playmaking and zero hustle plays turned those sparse buckets into empty calories. By the time he went completely scoreless in two minutes on 12/23 vs MEM, posting another staggering -10.7 Impact, his role had fully devolved into a human victory cigar. Merely existing on the court is not enough.