The Next Jokic? Why the Blazers Drafted Yang Hansen

The Next Jokic? Why the Blazers Drafted Yang Hansen

the one that interested me the most is the Blazers they drafted Yang Hansen with the fif with the 16th pick in the NBA draft this was a big big big time shocker to people around the league i got a bunch of texts about this where people are like “Yang Yansen at the 16th pick could they have traded down and gotten him maybe but maybe not tom you’re a Blazers guy what are you hearing about this what’s the logic between behind pairing Yang Hansen with now the Donovan Klingan who had a great rookie season are they just going to play Jumbo Twin Towers Two Bigs what’s What’s going on here in Portland
oh let’s go let’s go i am so here for this because we got four setters on that roster with you got DeAndre Aiden you got Donovan Klingan you got Rob Williams the third and you got Dwap Rereath already and then they bring in this kid who I watched the film and Jake Fischer over at Steinline tweeting out that he heard from a Denver coach a Nuggets coach texted him saying this is Chinese Jokic and you watch the film and you see the resemblance i’m not saying he’s going to be a three-time MVP and a champion uh for the Blazers but I’m saying there’s a lot of Jokic in his game and he has said that he models his game after Alparun Shangun Damas Sabonis son of Arvda Sabonis uh Blazers legend and uh uh Nikolic so the fact is this guy is a big who played at the combine and showed a lot of these skills he’s a young a young prospect that is going to probably take a couple years to figure out the speed of the NBA but as a shot blocker and a passer the passing uh analytics that we have from his his time at the CBA which by the way the MVP of the CBA was Jared Cullinger so we have to keep things in perspective about the numbers that we’re seeing in that level of competition but he’s a passing big and in this NBA you need skilled bigs and this is what you want from the Portland Trailblazers with Donovan Klingan Rob Williams the third and DeAndre Aton you want as much skill at that position as you can and it looks like he is loaded with skill at the offensively defensively is where I think he has the most room for improvement but terms of like 16th pick and home run swings you know this is where Giannis and Doupa was picked right around this position you can still make big high-risk high reward or high reward uh swings here in the back half of the first round and they certainly did that with Yang Hansen it’s fascinating Tom from so many different angles because a a the Chinese Jokic thing is he Chinese Jokic like bootleg Chinese NBA jerseys and NFL jerseys with like you with the bubbly numbers on the back or is he Chinese Jokic like he’s going to become one of the steels of the draft that’s what we’re going to find out in the years to come because everything you said is true and what he did at the NBA draft combine just a couple weeks ago a month ago he showed up and he survived on defense he was a great rim protector in China a great rebounder in China and I thought he looked solid defending in the in the scrimmages at the NBA draft combine his passing the connective passing showed up for him with his ability to deliver the ball accurately with velocity and on the post he’s not just again like the level of competition was not great in China as you said Cinger I love Cinger was the MVP
but
he’s got post moves man and not just like his primary post moves he’s got secondary post moves as well he can react to the defense as well he’s got good feel and so for Portland it’s fascinating from that perspective but from a team building perspective you invested in Klingan in the lottery last year you already have Aton on your roster Robert Williams on your roster and now you have Yang Hansen as well i’d imagine a DA and Time Lord you’re on the chopping and block they are very open to trades i would imagine that is not sourced i would just imagine that that is the case for Portland but also B it shows the importance of bigs in today’s NBA the league is getting bigger you need to have the ability to go to two bigs you got to have the ability to play with one big and having both Klingan and now Yang Hansen I do think it puts them in a position now to have that flexibility in the years to come especially if one or both of them can develop at least a solid three-pointer 33 34% off the catch i’m not asking for a lot here and both of these guys have shown the willingness to shoot threes yang Hansen only made 28% of his threes last year but he made 67% of his free throws has touch on post stops maybe there’s something there for him in the long term to be a guy who can at least space in certain two big situations so for Portland I just look forward to seeing what they do from here Tom it’s going to be very very very very interested with

The Blazers shocked everyone by selecting Yang Hansen with the No. 16 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — and NBA insiders were stunned. So who is Yang Hansen? And why are people calling him the “Chinese Jokic”? 🧐

Kevin O’Connor and Tom Haberstroh break down the surprise pick, Hansen’s slick passing and post game, and how he fits with Portland’s very crowded big man rotation that already includes Donovan Clingan, Deandre Ayton, and Robert Williams III.

Did Portland find a hidden gem… or are they stacking too many bigs? 🤔

0:00 – Blazers Draft Yang Hansen at No. 16
0:38 – “Chinese Jokic”? Player Comps & Skillset
2:22 – Can Hansen Defend in the NBA?
4:10 – Portland’s Vision: Flexibility With Size
🔗 2025 NBA Draft:

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