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Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
Selected by Portland a few hours ago, Hansen Yang is one of the big surprises of the 2025 draft. Some fans who have inquired about the Chinese center have gone so far as to compare him to Nikola Jokic!
As so often, the 2025 NBA Draft was full of surprises. Among the most surprising moves of the evening was the Blazers’ move with their 16th-place pick. Already active just hours earlier, having acquired Jrue Holiday in exchange for Anfernee Simons, the team’s management made another interesting move.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was Hansen Yang who was chosen by GM Joe Cronin. We say surprisingly because no one expected the big man to be so high in the draft. Almost all predictions saw him landing in the middle of the second round… It’s therefore a huge gamble taken by the Oregon franchise, but on the other hand, the latter can be patient while it is still in the middle of a rebuild.
Hansen Yang, the surprise of the 2025 draft
But who is Hansen Yang, and why select him so high, when Portland drafted another center in Donovan Clingan last year? The 20-year-old Chinese player has never played outside of the CBA… but has made a fine impression in his domestic league, earning two All-Star Game nominations and as many first-team selections, as well as a DPOY award. And the pictures are making some people salivate:
Hold on Blazers lowkey drafted Chinese Jokic pic.twitter.com/PBJuTflNjf
— June (@HoodieBrunson) June 26, 2025
Hold on Blazers lowkey drafted Chinese Jokic
As a reminder, Jokic entered the NBA as the 41st overall draft pick, which matches Yang’s initial predictions. Furthermore, his highlights do indeed paint a similar picture to the three-time MVP. But hey, you still have to be able to perform as well as him once you arrive in the NBA. Fans are already much more skeptical about that.
@sirsaudade: Jokic is a the best player of the 2020s, slow down
@GiannisWorld_: I’ve never seen a video that screams to me “he’s not going to do this in the league” as much as this lmao
@noahdavisxc: This video feels like it’s in slow motion
