Portland Trail Blazers fans got the first glimpse of their first-round rookie in the NBA Summer League, and they compared him to Nikola Jokic.
The Trail Blazers picked number 16 in this year’s draft, and weren’t expected to pick up any of the premier talents available. But it appears that a future star could have fallen into their lap.
Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
Their first-round pick put up 10 points, five assists, four rebounds and three blocks in his first Summer League outing. After watching him play for the first time, Blazers fans are ready to hand over the keys of the franchise to him.
Portland Trail Blazers fans are amazed by Yang Hansen’s Summer League debut
Yang Hansen, a 7’1” center from China, had a lot of hype coming out of the draft. But at 16 he was considered a reach, making Yang a big draft surprise when he was taken that high.
He has an incredible following from his home nation. And Yang’s work ethic and playmaking skill as a seven-footer draw comparisons to Nikola Jokic.
His Summer League opener even had fans wondering if he should have gone number one over Cooper Flagg.
One fan said on X, “Watching Yang Hansen play is making me wonder if Cooper Flagg really should have been the first pick.”
Another suggested that Yang had the highest ceiling of any rookie, “Are we sure Yang Hansen doesn’t have the most upside in this draft class? I’m not kidding.”
We’re one game in, but Blazers fans are hyping themselves up over Yang. Some are ready to call him the face of the franchise, saying, “I’ve seen enough. Yang Hansen is the face of Portland.”
Another added to the hype, putting him among the all-time Trail Blazer greats, “Updated Greatest Blazer of all time list: 1. Lillard, 2. Drexler, 3. Walton, 4. Yang Hansen”
The Blazers might take The Great Leap Forward in the Yang Hansen era
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The Jokic comparisons came flooding in when fans saw the playmaking ability of the big man. He is already being dubbed the next Jokic.
A fan said, “What makes me hopeful Hansen Yang could actually be a star in the NBA one day is the amount of physicality he plays with. He truly is the closest prospect we have seen to Jokic.”
Another made the comparison immediately, “I’ve seen one assist from Yang Hansen and I’m ready to call him the next Jokic 😭😭”
Yang Hansen thrived despite a language barrier
What makes Yang’s performance even more impressive is that he did it all through the language barrier. He knows some English, but not enough to call out plays and communicate properly. Yang also did all of his post-game interviews through an interpreter.
When asked how he operated around the language barrier, he had a hilarious answer, “I know a little bit of English, so I try to make an effort with my English, but if that doesn’t work, I just yell ‘ahh, ahhh, ahhh’ until something happens!”
With the limited English Yang does know, he knows how to apologize. So much so that Head Coach Chauncy Billups, who spoke about the language problem after drafting Yang, told him to stop during his debut.
Yang explained, “Sometimes I make mistakes and I tell my teammates, ‘my bad, my bad,’ and [Billups] told me ‘Hanson, no more of that. Help each other and have fun.’”
Knowing Yang can operate at this level without knowing much English is a scary thought. Just wait until he can talk to his teammates!