‘Chinese Jokic’ Yang Hansen chosen as 16th pick in the NBA draft

‘Chinese Jokic’ Yang Hansen chosen as 16th pick in the NBA draft

The Chinese basketball star Yang Hansen celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday, but he received the best birthday present the day before: he sat down the NBA draft hat after he was selected in the first round. Most of the experts had predicted that the Chinese center would be chosen in the second round of the NBA Drafts 2025, so the decision of the Portland Trail Blazers made it to select it with the 16th overall series, for a surprise in the Barclays Center in New York and delighted the Chinese fans, who were promoted in the morning.

an ascent in the basketball world

"Hello, NBA! My name is Hansen Yang!" He posted Weibo on the social media platform. While this name is not yet familiar to many in the United States, the 2.18 m tall Yang in China is already very well known. He bears the country's hopes that another local player will notice in the NBA.

a historical comparison with Yao Ming

Today 23 years ago, Yao Ming was selected as the first overall winner, which marked the beginning of his legendary NBA trip with the Houston Rockets. It may be premature to compare Yang with Yao, but he has already demonstrated his potential at both ends of the field, especially with his game overview, his rebounding and his three -point throw.

yang, whose home club die qingdao eagles "A pride for Chinese basketball". The "Chinese Nikola Jokic" is the first player from his country to have been selected in the NBA draft for almost a decade, according to Wang Zhelin and Zhou Qi's picks in 2016-with one never playing in the USA and the other only spent one season as a supplementary player.

services in the CBA and International

Yang began his career in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) 2023 at Qingdao. In the last two seasons he has been named rookie of the year and was all-star starter. Last season he scored an average of 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

in February 2024 he made his international debut at the age of 18 and has been a fixture in the national team since then. In the NBA Draft Combine, its span was measured with 2.21 m and its state width with 2.82 m.

The future for Chinese talents

The last Chinese who made it into the NBA was Cui Yongxi, who was unpredicted, last season a Two-Way contract signed the Brooklyn Nets and played five games in the regular season before stopping him.

At a press conference in front of the draft, the Hall of Famer Yao gave his advice to Yang and other young Chinese talents who dream of the NBA. "Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's work, it is important to remember one thing: the draft is only a small part of your entire career or even her life," he said. "What really matters is the way you hit afterwards."