The Chinese Jokic Just Made Them All Look Stupid

The Chinese Jokic Just Made Them All Look Stupid

Basketball is the most popular sport in China. 
But for a nation with a population of 1.4 billion people, the second highest on Earth, NBA players 
from China are still very rare. There have only been six Chinese-born NBA players, but after 
the 2025 NBA draft, there will be seven. And this player who they call the Chinese Yic might be 
the best of them all. And it is fascinating to see a player now who has so clearly modeled himself 
after Nicola Joic. Currently, the greatest Chinese basketball player to ever live is Yao Ming. The 
76 giant was the number one pick in the NBA draft, and despite only having a 9-year career, Yao was 
an allstar eight times. He accomplished enough within the sport to become a Hall of Famer. Now, 
over two decades have passed, and his successor   has finally arrived, and many people are expecting 
he’ll take what Yao did to the next level. This is Young Hansen, a 19-year-old 7’2 center who is not 
only the most unique prospect in the 2025 draft, but based on what we’ve seen so far in summer 
league, he might have the highest potential of any   player. That is including Cooper Flag. So, let’s 
go back to the beginning. Yang Hansen was born in Shandong, China in 2005, and he’s been playing 
basketball a very long time. He was a prodigy in high school, winning MVP and defensive player 
of the year twice while winning two national   championships. He was clearly the best player his 
age in the entire country. And because of that, Yang Hansen was called up to play for the youth 
national team at the 2022 FIA Asian Championship, which is a tournament for Asian countries 
featuring the best players in the continent   aged 18 or under. And Yang Hansen was by far 
the best player in the tournament. He had a double double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 
four assists, and three blocks in a blowout   win over India. In his second game against 
Korea, he had 7.7 rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks in just 22 minutes. And although 
they lost in the semifinal, in the third place game with a medal on the line for his country, 
Yan Hansen had his best performance yet. He finished with 21 points, shot nine of 
13 from the field, had eight rebounds,   three assists, and three blocks. Remember, he’d 
only just turned 17 years old. Statistically, Yang Hansen dominated the entire tournament. And 
I’m not just talking about his traditional stats, where he averaged 12.4 points, 9.2 two 
rebounds, 3.6 blocks, and 3.6 assists. No, you have to look deeper to understand how 
impressive his performances really were. He only   logged an average of 23 minutes per game. Yet, 
he led the entire tournament in player efficiency rating. He was top 15 in points per game, fifth 
in rebounds, first in blocks, 14th in assists, third in field goal percentage, seventh in free 
throw percentage, and first in double doubles. He   was basically top 15 in every statistical category 
despite receiving considerably less playing time than the other players at the top of these lists. 
But you know what talent evaluators said at the   time? It’s only the Asian championships. 
He wouldn’t be able to do this against the top prospects from the US and Europe. Well, a 
year later, Yang Hansen had that opportunity, playing at the 2023 under 19’s FIA World Cup in 
a tournament that featured a stacked team USA, France, Canada, Spain, Serbia, all the best 
basketball nations with rosters full of future and current NBA players. Yang Hansen finally had 
the opportunity to test himself against the best, and he aced that test. In China’s first game, 
they faced off with France, led by Zachary Reese, the number one pick in the 2024 NBA draft. But 
that’s not all. Matching up with Yang Hansen at the center position, was Alex Sar, the number 
two pick in the 2024 NBA draft. This was by far the toughest competition he’d ever faced in his 
career. Going up against two of the best young   talents on the planet. And individually in this 
game, Yang Hansen got the better of both of them. Bolivia 86 in favor of France in this one. 450 to 
play in this first quarter. Little jump hooked by Hans Seen Fisher. Pass nearly stolen away. 
Shot clock at six. And up over the defense of Hansen. And now France works it back around 
the other way. Here’s Pan Sar. He gets denied. And for additional content, aimed at 
all these great young athletes on both   the men’s and women’s side. But what’s more 
interesting is Yang Hansen versus Alex Sar. The Frenchman had nine points and nine rebounds, 
struggling with his efficiency being held to 38% shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Yang 
Hansen dominated the matchup. 14 points   on six of seven shooting from the field. Six 
rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. And the craziest part is Alexar is supposed to 
be a defensive prodigy. Scouts believe he will   become an AllNBA defender and one of the best 
shot blockers in the NBA. And yet, here was a younger Yang Hansen going at him one-on-one 
and giving him the business every single time. question in the chat asking what the difference is 
between the free throws as Hansen scores again. In the next game against Canada, Yang only had six 
points but absolutely dominated on the glass with 15 rebounds. And it was so bad that the Canadians 
had to sub in the tallest teenager in the entire world, the 79 Olivia Ryu from IMG Academy to try 
and compete with him on the boards. And even that wasn’t enough to stop Yang Hansen. He also had 
four blocks in this game. In the final group   stage game, China played Spain, the best team 
in the tournament who went on to win the gold. And yet again, Yang Hansen was the best player on 
the floor. He scored 14 points on 71% shooting, snagged eight rebounds, and blocked five shots. 
But Hansen Yang’s best performance at the World Cup came against the host nation Hungary. And 
in a toxic environment with home fans turning out in numbers to support their nation, the 
young Chinese big man was completely unfased.   He dropped a monster performance. 
23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and six blocks. Dominating every aspect 
of the game from the center position. There we go. What Yang Hansen proved in this tournament is 
that he was one of the best young prospects for   his position in the entire world. And the stats 
back it up. Against Korea, he had 14 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks. 
Then against Slovenia, he had nine points,   eight rebounds, six assists, and six blocks. 
Stuffing the stat sheet in every game he played. During the World Cup, Yang Hansen’s 
numbers were among the best in the entire   tournament. He averaged 12.6 points per game, 
10.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and five blocks, shooting 54% from the field. Now, these numbers 
might not seem that incredible at face value. But when you compare him to other centers, you 
understand how impressive this really was. Among centers, he was third in points per game, first 
in rebounds, first in assists, first in blocks, first in player efficiency rating. And when 
you compare his stats with Alex Sar, who was   a year older and the number two pick in the draft, 
Yang Hansen averaged more points, more rebounds, more assists, and more blocks. Matter of fact, 
in the entire tournament, including all players   from every position, he’s top 25 in scoring, 
still first in rebounds, first in blocks, second in efficiency, and fourth in assists 
despite being a big man. And after proving what   he could do on the world stage, NBA scouts started 
paying attention to Young Hansen. And back home, he was promoted to play professional basketball 
in the CBA league, which is the highest level   of professional basketball in China. Usually, it 
takes a young player time to learn and adjust to the pro game. Even Victor Webbyama didn’t dominate 
in France when he first turned pro. The CBA league is no joke either. It’s full of notable college 
players and former NBA guys, many of whom are still in the primes of their basketball career, 
but Yang Hansen was a differencemaker from day   one. He had an impressive debut against Beijing 
with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. But his big coming out party came in the biggest 
game of the season, taking on the Shanghai Sharks on the road in just his third ever professional 
basketball game. Yang Hansen officially arrived. He had 31 points on 12 of 17 shooting, 16 
rebounds, four assists. in four blocks in an overtime win. An absolutely dominant performance. 
And so there was a lot of those in Hansen’s rookie season. Some of the stat lines were 
just ridiculous. 32 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks against the 
Royal Ducks. 19 points, eight assists,   and 25 rebounds against the Sturgeons. 22 
points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks on 100% shooting against the Golden 
Bulls. eight points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and eight blocks against Shang Dong. And while 
he never got a triple double, he came an assist here or a block there away on eight different 
occasions. Remember, this was his rookie year, 18 years old. He led his team to a top six 
seed with a 32 and 20 record, and even took the eventual CBA League champions to an elimination 
game in the second round. For the season, in 51 games, Yang averaged 15 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.9 
assists, 2.2 two blocks, shot 55% from the field, and 22% from the perimeter. Among centers in the 
CBA, he was top 10 in points, top 10 in assists, top five in rebounds, and number one in blocks. 
He won the CBA Rookie of the Year award by a landslide, but was also defensive player of 
the year, an allstar, all CBA first team. He was undeniably one of the best players in the 
Chinese Pro League as an 18-year-old rookie. Now, I know this is an unfair comparison because they 
play different positions and the circumstances   were completely different, but Emanuel Moody was 
a five-star prospect, top five high school player in America. When he spent his one and done year 
in China playing with the Guong Southern Tigers, he put up some decent numbers, but he wasn’t first 
team OCBA. He wasn’t an all-star or even rookie of the year. The only young player you can actually 
compare him to is Yao Ming, the greatest player to ever come out of China. Of course, Yao Ming was 
on a different level. CBA champion, CBA MVP, CBA finals MVP, three-time blocks leader, three-time 
rebounding leader while being a multipletime FIA Asian Cup champion at senior level. He conquered 
Chinese basketball as a teenager, and that’s why he was the number one pick in the draft. But when 
comparing his stats on the screen to Yang Hansen,   we have to remember that the Chinese League 
competition is a lot better now than it was back then. And that is largely because of Yao Ming. 
He was so good he grew basketball and made it a more popular sport in China. But I bring these 
numbers up not to compare Yang Hansen to Yao Ming, but to show that he’s the best NBA prospect to 
come out of China since the Hall of Famer. While   Yang Hansen had put himself on NBA radar, he was 
still slept on as a prospect. Despite having the skills and potential of a lottery pick, he was 
a complete wildcard, projected to go undrafted or in the second round. What a lot of people don’t 
know is the first time we got a sneak peek of Yang   Hansen was during last year’s NBA summer league. 
The NBA actually invited team China to play against NBA Summer League teams in the leadup to 
the tournament in Vegas. Yang Hansen was a part of that team playing on American soil and his first 
game came against the San Antonio Spurs facing off against Stefon Castle, a top five pick who went 
on to be rookie of the year. Hansen struggled in this game going 05 from the field. But his second 
game was a lot more interesting, taking on the Charlotte Hornets featuring number six pick salon. 
In this game, Yang Hansen showed glimpses of what he was capable of. He finished the game with 12 
points, four of eight shooting from the field,   four rebounds, one assist, and two blocks. 
It wasn’t the most eye-catching performance statistically, but he showed a lot of things. His 
footwork, mobility, post moves, playmaking. While we didn’t see much of it, we did see it. Playing 
against the Kings, he played 15 minutes had eight points, three rebounds, and two assists. And over 
the three games, Yang Hansen averaged 8.7 points, five rebounds, one block, one assist when playing 
Las Vegas Summer League in 2024. Reminder, he was still only 18 years old. Returning 
to play pro in China for the 2024-25 season, Hansen averaged 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, three 
assists, 2.6 blocks, and a steal per game. He was an all-star, young player of the year, and all CBA 
first team. Again, statistically, the numbers were pretty similar as a sophomore to what they were 
as a rookie. But in the leadup to the NBA draft,   this season was more about his development 
and preparing for that transition. Hansen significantly improved his perimeter shooting, 
improving from 22 to 33% in one year. That improvement right there highlights his potential 
to grow as a shooter, and being able to space the   floor and be a threat from beyond the ark at 72 
really expanded his game. and amplified the skills he already possesses. Throughout his sophomore 
season, he had more monster performances. 31 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, and 
five stocks against Shandong. 29 points,   10 rebounds, seven assists on 12 of 13 shooting 
from the field against the Leopards. 18 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks against the Royal 
Fighters. 17 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, and five stocks against the Tigers. Because of these 
incredible performances throughout the season,   Yang Hansen earned his first call up and debuted 
for China’s senior men’s national team at the FIA Asian Cup qualifiers. Playing in just under 15 
minutes per game, Hansen averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. 
Playing a pivotal backup role, he was incredibly efficient, shooting 67% from the field, 100% from 
the perimeter, and 75% at the line. By this point, with the 2025 NBA draft approaching, Hansen 
Yang was very well prepared. He had 2 years of pro experience under his belt, had represented 
his national team at several FIA tournaments,   and of course, he’d already played in the States 
against top young NBA talent at Summer League. But despite all of this, Yang Hansen was still slept 
on. He was a projected late second round pick, and there was no guarantee he would even hear his 
name called on draft night. But everything changed   when he was invited to the NBA draft combine. 
The famous annual event where prospects from all over the world are invited to work out, do 
drills, and scrimmage in front of NBA personnel. At the combine, every NBA team got a close look 
at Yang Hansen, and his draft stock skyrocketed. But it wasn’t because of his measurements or 
how he performed in drills that caught the   scouts attention. It was how he performed during 
scrimmages. Offensively, whether it’s cutting into space, so much of is almost like a pickup game 
with coaches. I I think when you look at him, he would be perfect for teams that have multiple 
first round picks. When you’re looking at Brooklyn outside of eight and the teams that are coming 
to see him, I think everybody’s leaving with that   same kind of sense is that he’s a guy in those 
teams that if you have multiple picks, eye that I’m going to be looking at him with with this. I 
was right on the top. I’m all with him. Like the   Kyrie has been my cop for him. So, I know you kill 
him. On day one, he put up 12 points, two assists, one steal, and a block. He was even better with 11 
points, six assists, six rebounds, and two blocks in just 13 minutes. But it’s not the stat lines 
that blew scouts away. It was the wide variety of skills he displayed throughout. Physically, he was 
in a league of his own. Opponents stood no chance   of moving him off the block. But he wasn’t just 
overpowering his matchups. He was beating them with IQ and skill. His playmaking ability at the 
five was shockingly good. Finding teammates on cuts, bounce passes, lobs. He had a greater feel 
than anybody could have anticipated. And he did all of that while also doing things you expect 
from someone of his size, such as finishing,   dunking close to the basket, all while protecting 
the rim, blocking shots, and securing boards defensively. Yang Hansen became the biggest wild 
card after the draft combine and was now projected to be an early second round pick. But the overall 
draft mark uh previews that um his position might be around the 30th or 40th. That means the either 
the tail of the first round of the or the front row of the second round. Not bad. After the 
combine, multiple NBA teams invited Yang Hansen to a private workout. And yet again, all three 
teams were incredibly impressed with what they   were seeing. And as a result of these workouts, 
flash forward to the night of the NBA draft, one team made one of the most shocking draft night 
selections in recent draft history. With the 16th pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Memphis Grizzlies 
select Yang Hansen from Zebo, China, and the Ching Dao Eagles. The Portland Trailblazers moved 
mountains to draft Yan Hansen with the 16th pick, making a deal with the Grizzlies to get the 16th 
pick just to take him. Nobody saw this coming, not even Yang Hansen himself. He wasn’t even in 
the green room with all the top projected picks.   He was eating fried chicken in the crowd. He was 
debating whether or not even turning up to the first round of the draft, only to find out that 
he’s been selected first pick right after the lottery. Can you just take us through what was 
going through your head when you finally heard   your name be called here? I mean, for sure it’s 
a big shock for me. I mean, I just surpris when Adam called my name. That’s I that surprised me. I 
was just sitting there finishing my fried chicken and I I still I didn’t I didn’t even put my suit 
on. Like suddenly they told me Hansen Hansen like take your suit off. I said, “Huh?” And I just 
take it off and suddenly so when camera caught me I still try to make the suit go looks good. 
Before I touch my suit, I still use t-shirt to clean my hand. I don’t want the oil mess up with 
my suit. Oh, smart man. Smart man. But what was so insane about this pick is that the Blazers 
could have waited. ESPN had Hansen projected as the 36th pick in their final mock draft. 
When I texted other executives about Young, um there were a lot that said that they liked 
him, but they liked him as a second round pick.   Oh, could that draft capital not been utilized on 
someone that made a little bit more sense or trade down? If this is who you’re going to draft, you 
have you have no competition. I promise you there   was nobody else in any front office around the NBA 
being like, “Oh man, we missed out on Young.” But the Blazers were so sure about Young Hansen that 
they didn’t want to take any risks. They didn’t want to trade their picks, try and acquire 
more capital to take him at a later pick. No,   they were fully willing to risk it all. draft 
him 20 picks earlier than expected because they were scared somebody else would snap him up. 
And this was the plan all along. The Portland Trailblazers even kept their draft workout a 
secret. It wasn’t until after the draft they   posted the footage on YouTube. Now, this is 
an uncommon practice for NBA teams. Usually, they post workouts from every player that 
tries out, but the fact that they held on to   this footage means they didn’t want any other NBA 
team seeing what they saw. And watching the clips on the screen, you can see why Portland wanted 
to keep this on the down low. On draft night,   this pick received mixed reception. Some say it 
was the biggest reach in recent draft history. Others called it a marketing pick to grow the 
team’s brand in China and appeal to the massive   Asian demographic. This is a surprise. I don’t 
think you can find a draft that would have had uh this prospect in the top 20. Most don’t even 
have him in the first round. But I’ve got a few connections and I can guarantee you that people 
around the league are shaking their heads and   texting each other right now going, “What on earth 
is Portland doing?” But the narrative has quickly changed to the point people are now saying Yan 
Hansen was the biggest steal of the entire draft. Because based on what we’ve seen in NBA Summer 
League, if there was a reddraft today, there is no chance Yang Hansen would still be on the board 
outside of the lottery. NBA Summer League opening weekend in Las Vegas playing in his first game 
against the Warriors. Yang Hansen did his thing. He had a tough angle to try to shoot 
that over the front of the rim with   his right on four. Henson still 
a lid on the bucket. Good block by Yang Hansen. Henson out top. 
Nice cut by Carter and the layup. Hson banks it home. Yeah, he got the cash out. 23 
minutes, 10 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Game two against Memphis. 
More of the same. 10 points, five rebounds,   three assists, and a block. That here for 
the week with the son for vacation. Oh, Young Lottery pick by Charlotte four years ago. with 
ball handling. Number 11 in white getting a shot with Portland here in the summer league. There’s 
the footwork. I think all of us if you own that bet you should. You get a greater appreciation 
just how incredible all that is. His love misses, but Young Hansen is there. But his best NBA summer 
league game came against the Pelicans. Yang Hansen showed off his scoring ability with 15 points, but 
most importantly his shooting. Of his 15 points, nine of them came from beyond the ark with three 
made three balls. He also had three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. Boy Weaver, 
the general manager. So remember we were talking about these. So thank you, Vanessa. On a scale 
of Hansen cooking something up and I thought it was interesting because of what Shanty Bilip said 
to you guys about the communication. Once again, you know, he knows I’m going to grade him with a 
much more difficult scale than many others will. Hansson laces another three ball. And in his final 
game against the Houston Rockets, Yang Hansen did a bit of everything, stuffing the stat sheet, 
finishing with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Over his four games 
of NBA Summer League, Yang averaged 10.8 points, five rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 blocks. He 
shot 45% from the field, 33% from the perimeter, and a promising 87% from the line, which gives 
us even more reason to be optimistic about his potential as a shooter. But I bring up those 
stats only to reiterate that it’s not about   the statistics. What Yang Hansen did in NBA 
Summer League cannot be measured by statistics. There is no statistic that can quantify the 
potential we saw. We learned that at this level, Yan Hansen can shoot, block shot, score, 
facilitate, rebound. He can do it all already at 20 years old. His NBA summer league performances 
can be symbolized in a singular image. This photo right here of Yang Hansen walking out of the 
tunnel pictured next to Nola Joic. When they say a picture can speak a thousand words, this 
right here is the epitome of that because Yang’s performances were very Yiclike. And 10 years ago, 
when you compare the stats from NBA summer league, you can see that Jokic and Hansen stats 
are pretty identical. Matter of fact,   Yangs are actually probably better. But for Yang 
Hansen, it’s not about the stats or the results right now. It’s all about the process and the 
possibility of him fulfilling his full potential,   which is off the charts because Hansen possesses a 
rare skill set for a player of his size. And it’s all anchored by his highlevel passing, soft 
touch, and natural feel for the flow of the   game. What draws clear stylistic comparisons 
to Nicola Joic is the vision, processing, and poise in his game. The parallels are striking. 
He plays the game with intelligence, timing, with a focus of elevating his teammates. Hansen 
operates best as a high post hub, often initiating actions from the elbow or top of the key. The same 
areas of the court where Jokic dominates. Hansen’s passing instincts are already among the best in 
the NBA for his position. He can make back door reads, deliver skip passes, and execute dribble 
handoffs with nuance timing. Much like Yic, he doesn’t need traditional touches in the post 
to be impactful. Instead, he reads the floor,   plays unselfishly, and makes quick, instinctive 
decisions that keep the game flowing. It’s this connective tissue role which is an increasingly 
valuable trait in modern offenses that makes Yang Hansen so appealing long term. Scoring-wise, 
Hansen is more of a finesse player than a bruiser. He has soft touch around the rim, great footwork, 
and a developing mid-range jumper. Sometimes he struggles finishing through contact and gets moved 
off his spots by stronger defenders. But those   clear areas for improvement can be addressed as he 
gets NBA training. I fully expect him to improve his lower body strength and core stability. Of 
course, he’ll need to add muscle to become a   more consistent interior threat, yet again, he 
has the best coaches in the world to help him achieve that. And while he is capable of knocking 
down shots from the outside, it’s still a work in   progress. He can hit them occasionally, but 
not yet reliably for it to be a real weapon in his game, which again, when using Nicola Joic 
as a case study, is also something he had to work on and get better at. Now, on the defensive end, 
Hansen is more of a question mark than people want   to admit. While he was defensive player of the 
year in China, the CBA is not the NBA. Over there, Yan Hansen was able to hide and drop coverage and 
just be a big body that camps in the paint. The   NBA is an entirely different world, and a lot 
of his deficiencies defensively could get very quickly exposed. He’s not a vertical athlete, 
and because he doesn’t move well laterally,   these things limit his rim protection and ability 
to contain guards and pick and roll coverage. While he shows good awareness and understands 
positioning, he’ll need to significantly improve   his strength, mobility, and timing to avoid being 
a complete liability at the next level. Yes, I’m sure if you put him on an NBA floor, he’ll 
be able to grab boards and block shots simply   because of the fact he’s 72, but we’ve seen so 
many times in the NBA over the last few years that you need more than just height to be able to 
hold your own. And there’s a bunch of questions   about his athleticism, his explosiveness, and it’s 
not the sort of knock on Nicolo, which was, oh, he’s a little overweight, he’s a little pudgy, 
you know, I don’t know how committed he is. This   is the way this guy’s body is constructed is not 
necessarily an NBA frame. And the explosiveness, we don’t see it being there. Another thing 
that’s hard to measure with statistics,   but is noticeable if you watch him play, is the 
intangibles. Yang Hansen plays with a maturity and unselfishness that’s uncommon for players 
his age. He doesn’t chase the stats. The stats chase him. He doesn’t force it. While coming from 
China, there may be a steeper learning curve and adjustment period to the NBA’s pace and culture, 
but with his basketball IQ and willingness to play   within a system, that transition should be easy 
for him. And if you’re a Portland Trailblazers fan, you should get excited. It isn’t about the 
short term for Yang Hansen. The Blazers have a very promising young core mixed with experienced 
veterans like Drew Holiday and Damen Lillard as   well as ready now players such as Jeremy Grant, 
Robert Williams, and Mattius Tyel. Having these established guys takes the pressure off Yang 
Hansen to be a differencemaker right away. The   Blazers plan to play the long game with him. It’s 
not about who he is as a rookie. It’s about who he becomes in the next few years. After drafting 
Donovan Clling in top five in last year’s draft, he still projects to be the foundational big of 
the future in Portland, especially defensively, which means Portland doesn’t need Hansen to anchor 
the front court. In fact, the skill sets of both   Donovan Klingan and Yang Hansen could eventually 
complement each other in intriguing ways. Look at the best teams in the NBA right now. The number 
one seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland   Cavaliers. Both of those teams had great success 
playing with two sevenfooters. And the same concept can work here. Klingan and Hansen can 
coexist in the Blazer’s front court. Clinging   is the big strong traditional rim protector and 
low post presence while Hansen in contrast offers a more fluid playmaking oriented approach to the 
position. He has the skill set to thrive in hybrid lineups as a high post facilitator, opening doors 
for all different types of ways they can play   offensively. Young Hansen fits well with the young 
guards, too. Scoot Henderson and Shaden Sharp form one of the most athletic young back courts in 
the NBA. Yan Hansen could serve as a connector   who enables offball movement, finding the athletic 
slashers, cutting to the basket or setting them up to attack downhill off of dribble handoffs. Yang 
Hansen might not be a lob threat or traditional pick and roll finisher. But his ability to create 
advantages without needing touches or athletic dominance offers a different pathway to offensive 
efficiency. And that’s really going to be the key for him at the next level is can he maintain his 
efficiency? Ultimately, the efficiency is what makes Nicoola Jokic so special. That’s going 
to be what’s hardest to replicate. All in all,   Yang Hansen is a massive gamble. He is as 
high-risk, high reward as it gets. Does he have bust potential? Absolutely. This could be a 
situation where we look back many years from now and think, why did they draft this guy so high? 
It’s the type of pick that if it goes wrong can cost somebody their job. But if it pays off, it is 
genius because Yang Hansen has no ceiling. We have no idea what he could become in the future. He has 
the potential to be a franchise changer. And if he does work out and becomes a Jokiclike offensive 
hub at 72 while doing everything else he does on the basketball floor, then that changes everything 
for the Portland Trailblazers. I truly believe   Yan Hansen has the potential to be one of the 
biggest international stars in basketball history, both on and off the court. And while there is 
only one Yao Ming, only one Nicola Yokic, and it’s unfair to place those expectations upon anyone, 
Yang Hansen has passed every test so far. He might just be another outlier that goes on to accomplish 
great things that nobody saw coming. But let me ask you a question. Where do you stand on Yang 
Hansen? He’s definitely the most polarizing rookie in the 2025 NBA draft. The question is 
though, are you buying stock or are you betting against him? Share all your thoughts and feedback 
down below in the comments. And by the way,   if you think Yang Hansen is a special playmaker, 
wait till I tell you about Yuki Kawamura, the shortest player in the NBA, Japanese prodigy, 
who might be the most entertaining player in the NBA right now. He’s only 57 and has been 
doing the impossible for years now. So, if you want to check out our video talking about 
him, click the big box in the middle of your   screen to go and watch that. Like the video to 
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Yang Hansen, the Chinese Jokic just made them all look stupid. He might just be the most slept-on prospect in the entire 2025 NBA Draft class—and in this video, we break down exactly why the Portland Trail Blazers may have pulled off the steal of the draft by picking up the 7’1″ Chinese center with elite vision, touch, and feel for the game. Dubbed by some as the “Chinese Jokić”, Hansen isn’t your typical seven-footer. He’s not dominating with athleticism or raw power. Instead, he plays the game with surgical precision—reading defenses, threading passes from the high post, and operating as an offensive hub with a style eerily reminiscent of Nikola Jokić’s early years in Denver. His playmaking, timing, and unselfishness are unlike anything we’ve seen from a Chinese prospect since Yao Ming, and in some ways, his overall versatility may be even more modern. In this deep-dive, we break down Hansen’s skillset, dissect his strengths and weaknesses, and explore his fit with the Trail Blazers both next season and long-term. We’ll also analyze what separates him from other bigs in this class and why his game could thrive in a system built around ball movement, spacing, and high IQ basketball. With Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan already in Portland’s young core, Hansen might be the perfect complementary piece—a connector who doesn’t need touches to impact the game but makes everyone around him better.
We take a look at his journey—from rising through the youth ranks in China, to making waves in the CBA, to showing flashes of brilliance in Summer League against NBA-level talent. And while he may not be ready to dominate from day one, what Hansen brings to the table is rare. His passing instincts are real. His touch around the rim is smooth. His vision at 7’1″ is special.
And while there are still question marks—his strength, his defense, and how quickly he adjusts to NBA pace—one thing is clear: Yang Hansen sees the game differently.
Could he be the next international surprise to take over the league like Jokić, Giannis, or Luka? Or will the physical limitations catch up to him at the next level? Either way, the upside is real—and if Portland is patient, they may have landed a player who can reshape their offense for years to come.

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