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The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired the right -of -the -right Rights project 1 inch Yang Hansen out of China this summer in a business with the Memphis grizzles, and he seeks to have an immediate impact.
Yang, 20, is relatively unknown to basketball fans in good weather. He has been playing basketball in China since he was in primary school and finally went to Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), playing for the Eagles of Qingdao.
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Yang Hansen, n ° 16 of the Portland Trail Blazers, poses for a portrait during the Recruit photo of the NBA 2025 at the UNLV on July 16, 2025 in Las Vegas. (Harry How / Getty Images)
It was an ABC All-Star in 2024 and 2025 and appointed the defensive player of the year 2024 before being raised in the NBA circles. It should become a key element of the trail blazers under the Chauncey Billups head coach.
Yang, whose father Yang Lin was a professional basketball player, explained why he decided to play basketball in an interview with the Washington Post. He told the newspaper that he had to leave sports at the age of 8 when he refused to train outside in the heat. His father urged him to work hard at something that could help him enter university. According to the report, Yang tried several sprots before returning to basketball.
“I was not so good in school and I was a bit of a big boy,” he told Washington Post. “My father told me to try sports, understand what you want to do and lose weight. My father said to me:” Don’t become big. “”
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Yang Hansen, on the right, welcomed the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, after being selected as 16th choice by Memphis’ grizzly grozzlies in the first round of the NBA 2025 draft at Barclays Center in Brookly, New York, June 25, 2025. (Images of Brad Penner-Imagn)
Yang should become the ninth Chinese NBA player when he finally takes the ground for Portland. He will follow in the footsteps of the legendary Yao Ming and the former star Yi Jianlian.
Cui Yongxi is the only other active Chinese player. He played five games for the Brooklyn Nets last season, but his year was interrupted when he torn his ACL in a League G match.
Yang has recognized the pressures that will come from China and play in the NBA.
“It’s a lot of pressure, that’s for sure,” he told the newspaper. “I just want to show people in China, I do good.
Yang Hansen heads to the stage after being selected as a 16th choice by Memphis’ grizzles in the first round of the NBA 2025 draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, June 25, 2025. (Images of Brad Penner-Imagn)
“Yao is the icon of Chinese basketball. It is special. I’m just a recruit. I can feel a lot of expectations and anticipation on me. Yao is number one in paradise. Compared to it, I’m cold ash in a pot.”
