The Portland Trail Blazers made some noise at the 2025 NBA Draft as they selected Chinese center Yang Hansen at No. 16 overall (acquiring his rights via the Memphis Grizzlies). To note, Yang was projected as a late first round or second-round pick, so this certainly was a bit unexpected. So much so, that the 7-footer was sitting in the crowd when he heard his name called.
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China's Yang Hansen was in the stands when drafted 🙌
He's headed to the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade with Memphis 🔥 pic.twitter.com/D6sghlRuNK
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 26, 2025
"I was expecting to be selected at the end of the first round," Yang told reporters inside the Brooklyn, New York Barclays Center. "So, this is definitely a big surprise for me to be selected in the middle of the first round."
"Beyond his wildest imagination"
Yang Hansen after being selected 16th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. He says it was a big surprise to hear his name called in the middle of the 1st rd.
Here's part of his NBA Draft press conference via @trailblazers #RipCity pic.twitter.com/HWxVmzRYyB
— Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) June 26, 2025
That is to say, he was well aware of the Blazers' interest in him.
"The Blazers had scouts scouting me in China the last couple of years," Yang said. "I also had a pre-workout with them last month. Everything went very well and I got along with all of the front-office people. But at the end of the day, this is sort of beyond my wildest imagination."
Yang's agent Rich Paul called it the "shock of the draft."
For anyone who has seen glimpses of Yang's Chinese Basketball Association highlights on YouTube, he certainly has a NBA-skill set that mirrors the likes of 3x MVP Nikola Jokic.
A Nuggets source just texted me: "Chinese Jokic," about the Blazers' surprise selection. https://t.co/Y24W602Tpt
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 26, 2025
Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin spoke on drafting the young Qingdao Eagles star, who averaged 15.8 points (56.9% FG), 10.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 blocks, while appearing in 96 games over the last two seasons in the CBA.
"So at 16 we selected a player that we've been watching for a quite a while and we're really excited about, Yang Hansen," Cronin said. "This is a very, very unique talent in our opinion. He obviously has great size at 7'1, just turns 20 tomorrow. High end skill set, his ability to pass, his basketball IQ, his functionality in the post, his ability to step out. We think he'll be a good free throw shooter, we think he'll make perimeter jump shots as well."
To note, Yang shot an average of one 3-pointer a game last season on 33.3% shooting from behind the perimeter. And at 18 years old, he won CBA Defensive Player of the Year with 2.6 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
Cronin added, "Defensively, he's a really smart player that can be pretty versatile in the post with his size and IQ."
In view of the Trail Blazers' already loaded frontcourt that consists of Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Toumani Camara, it does raise some questions on potential playing time.
Nevertheless, considering the Blazers used a mid-first round pick on Yang, they certainly are betting on him developing into a future star.
Notably, the last time a China-born player had been selected, was the 2016 NBA Draft: Zhou Qi (Rockets) and Wang Zhelin (Grizzlies).
One thing is for certain, the Trail blazers' fanbase just got a whole lot bigger, as the kid from Shandong province is headed to Portland, and will become the eighth Chinese player in NBA history, following in the footsteps of former No. 1 overall pick Yao Ming.
Related: Brooklyn Nets Sign Chinese Sharpshooter Yongxi 'Jacky' Cui, Following In The Footsteps Of Jeremy Lin
