Unlike most NBA players who develop their passion for basketball early, Portland Trail Blazers first-round draft pick Yang Hansen didn’t take to the sport until he was about 13.
“Before that, he didn’t want to run so much,” translator Chris Liu said for the 7-foot-1 center, who spoke almost exclusively in Mandarin. “It was too much fatigue. So, he just hated basketball sometimes.”
Yang began to discover how good he could become while dominating a tournament.
“That tournament, he was killing everyone else and they kept winning,” Liu translated. “That winning spirit made him feel good. And after that, he developed all the fun and an interest in basketball.”
Roughly seven years later, Yang, 20, became the surprise first-round selection of the Trail Blazers.
The Blazers traded back from pick No. 11 to select Yang at No. 16, acquiring the pick from Memphis, along with a 2028 first-round pick (via Orlando) and second-round picks in 2027 and 2028.
The move stunned many draft followers because Yang was largely projected as a second round pick.
The Blazers’ brass, however, entered the night intent on doing whatever it took to select Yang while also gathering additional assets.
Their plan under general manager Joe Cronin worked out. Now, the Blazers face the challenge of bringing along a player who hails from a country that hasn’t produced many star NBA players beyond former Houston center Yao Ming, selected No. 1 overall in 2002.
Yang became China’s first player selected in the first round since 2006, when Milwaukee tabbed 7-0 center Yi Jianlian No. 6 pick overall. Jianlian produced just 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over five seasons with four different teams.
The Blazers, who began scouting Yang during the fall 2023, have greater hopes for his future.
Portland Trail Blazers press conference
Yang Hansen, the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2025 draft pick, listens as translator Chris Liu relays a question from the media at the team’s practice facility on Friday, June, 27, 2025.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
“Obviously, really excited about how it turned out,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “Hansen is a good young player. Very, very talented. Very young, like most of the guys who get drafted. But we’re really excited about him. We really are. He can do a lot of amazing things out there.”
Yang was also happy to be in Rip City.
“I feel so excited to come here being one of the players,” he said.
He thanked everyone within the organization for believing in him and looked forward to getting to know Portland.
“I really like the city,” Yang said. “I can get along with anyone. I’m a kind person. He knows that the rainy weather will help him to sleep more.”
Sleeping, it turns out, along with playing Sony PlayStation and eating, are his main hobbies outside of basketball.
Yang has naturally been compared to Yao, a 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer. Yang’s passing skills have drawn comparisons to Denver center Nikola Jokic, also known as “The Joker.”
“I think that ‘Baby Joker’ or being compared to Yao, is a big honor,” Yang said. “I just try to learn from everyone, every good player and improve myself every day.”
Yang watched the draft from the stands with fans at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, because only projected first-round picks were invited to sit with their families at tables on the arena floor.
Yang said he was “chill” in the stands, expecting to be selected in the 20s. When his name was called, he stood up in his all-white suit and waved, while fans around him cheered.
Yang said he will lean on Blazers center Duop Reath to help him learn the ropes. Reath played for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association during the 2022-23 season, a year before Yang joined the squad.
Yang, who averaged 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season, said he knows he must become more physical so he can grab rebounds in the paint and score.
“I need a workout so I end up more fast and more strong,” Yang said.
How Yang fits in next season will be interesting to follow.
Billups said the plan for now is to help Yang develop a feel for the NBA game and what’s required to succeed.
“Learn our game, learn our system, offensively and defensively, learning the language,” he said. “There’s so much development that needs to happen. But I will feel very comfortable putting him in the game right now. He’s that good. To me, it’s not like a project-type situation. This guy’s ready to go. But he’s in a crowded room.”
Portland Trail Blazers press conference
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups during an introductory press conference for draft pick Yang Hansen at the team’s practice facility on Friday, June, 27, 2025.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
The Blazers currently have five centers, though a potential upcoming trade could thin the herd. Plus, Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III and Reath will be entering the final year of their respective contracts.
By this time next year, the Blazers could have just Donovan Clingan, the team’s first-round pick in 2024, and Yang under contract at the center position.
Yang’s clear transferrable traits right now are his impressive passing skills, size, ability to finish near the rim. Billups praised his high basketball IQ.
“He plays the game the right way,” Billups said. “He’s a really good teammate. Playing for others to make other guys better. His competitive fire. Really competes out there. Love that about him.”
Billups added that Yang already has a natural feel for playing team basketball.
“A lot of things as a coach that I have to teach with young guys, I don’t have to teach this kid,” he said. “He’s been taught the right way.”
If Yang demonstrates the same promise that Clingan did last season, the Blazers will face a decision down the road.
Billups doesn’t envision a lot of lineups with Clingan and Yang on the floor together.
“But who knows? Both of these guys are very young. They’re going to get so much better. But I do think that their games complement one another very nicely,” Billups said.
Yang will make his debut with the Blazers during the NBA’s Las Vegas summer league, which starts July 10.
Yang said that if he weren’t playing basketball, he would probably be coaching.
“Draw some crazy offense for players and see if they could do it,” he said.
Yang will face a similar challenge, learning the Blazers’ system while overcoming a language barrier.
“Obviously, it’s a little unique, having to kind of coach through the translator,” Billups said. “But I anticipate that that won’t happen for too long. He’s really determined to understand the language and be able to speak the language.”
Billups expects to be able to build their communication through the language of basketball.
“It will probably sound really fast to him as it’s coming at him,” Billups said. “But we’ll be spending a lot of time on it. There’ll be some adjustments that you have to make, naturally, in film sessions and huddles and things of that nature.”
Australia v China - Ballin '24: Day 1
Yang Hansen of Team China shoots during the game between the Australia Boomers and China at John Cain Arena on July 02, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)Getty Images
Billups said he plans to learn some phrases in Mandarin.
“I’ll do whatever I can do. I already know Ni hao,” Billups said, drawing laughter.
“Ni hao” means “hello” in Mandarin.
Billups, it turns out, also speaks a little French.
“We’ve got a couple of guys that speak French on the team,” Billups said. “Every time I see them in the morning, I’m saying, ‘Bonjour.’ We’ll have a lot of fun with it.”
One trait Yang has off the court that Billups appreciates is his winning personality.
“We don’t all know him that well yet, but he loves to have a lot of fun, and he’s always smiling and stuff,” Billups said. “It’s gonna be cool.”
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)