Yang Hansen wasn’t anticipated to be picked excessive within the draft, however the Trail Blazers have been scouting him for the previous couple of years in China.
Yang Hansen speaks to the media after being drafted sixteenth oveall by the Memphis Grizzlies then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers through the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 25, 2025 within the Brooklyn borough of New York City.(Getty Images by way of AFP)
Hansen turns into simply the third Chinese participant to be chosen within the first spherical of the NBA Draft and the primary since 2007. Icon Yao Ming, who was the primary choice in 2002, and Yi Jianlian — who was sixth total in 2007– are the one different two with that distinction.
Yang Hansen wasn’t anticipated to be picked excessive within the draft, however the Trail Blazers have been scouting him for the previous couple of years in China. Here is extra element concerning the participant.
Who is Yang Hansen, Chinese prodigy turns into the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2025 NBA Draft first spherical decide?
Yang Hansen, 20, has been a prodigy within the Chinese Basketball Association, enjoying for the Qingdao Eagles from 2023 to this 12 months. He was a two-time CBA All-Star and earned the Rookie of the Year honour throughout his first season.
In his two seasons with the CBA’s Eagles, he averaged 15.8 factors per recreation, 10.7 rebounds per recreation, and three.5 assists per recreation. Many specialists have in contrast him to three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić.
The 7ft 2in (2.18m) heart had been tipped as a second-round decide.
That was even after his inventory had risen after a promising efficiency on the NBA draft mix, the place a few of his passes had earned comparisons to Jokic.
Yang Hansen had particular person exercises with 11 groups, together with the Trail Blazers, who, after swapping the eleventh and sixteenth draft picks with the Memphis Grizzlies, grabbed Yang on Wednesday.
“The Blazers had scouts scouting me in China the last couple of years. I also had a pre-workout with them last month. Everything went very well, and I got along with all the front-office people. But at the end of the day, this is sort of beyond my wildest imagination,” Yang stated.
The decide made for a sensational birthday for Yang Hansen, who turned 20 on Thursday.
Not included among the many probably first-round prospects and given a spot within the near-stage ready room, he clambered down from the stands wearing a white swimsuit to shake NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s hand.
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