Boban Marjanovic spoke about the Western Conference and named a young center who can match up with Nikola Jokic.
Nikola Jokic is a true anomaly in the NBA. You wouldn’t expect an NBA center to have his playmaking and scoring finesse.
It’s this unique talent that has allowed Jokic to become one of the best players in the NBA today. And many executives on NBA teams are constantly looking to find ‘the next Jokic.’
It appears the Portland Trail Blazers may have found him in Yang Hansen. The young center from China has earned comparisons to Nikola Jokic since the moment he was drafted.
And according to another European NBA center, it’s going to be Hansen who combats Jokic in the Western Conference, despite being a rookie.
Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty ImagesBoban Marjanovic backs Yang Hansen to compete with Nikola Jokic
Boban Marjanovic was a guest on NBA Today, where he talked about the prominent centers in the NBA. Outside of the expected names, Boban picked out the player he is looking forward to watching.
For Boban, Portland Trail Blazers center Yang Hansen is the player he has his eye on. He watched Hansen in China, and while his game isn’t perfect, he has all the tools to succeed in the NBA.
“I think it’s the guy from China – Hansen. I was in China last half of the season. I watched him and how he played. This guy is amazing. How he moves, how he protects the ball, how he shoots.
“His slide Eurostep comes from China, and it’s really good. Maybe the defense is not like the NBA, but he’s still young. He can basically do everything that he wants.
“But the point is, he needs to work. I asked his agent, ‘What do you guys expect?’ He was like ’45-50 in the draft, and he was #16…’ I’m really happy for him.”
Brian Windhorst explains how important Yang Hansen is to the NBA
Adding to Boban Marjanovic’s point, Brian Windhorst admitted that Yang Hansen is one of the most important players in the NBA, as they try to re-engage their Chinese audience again.
“Yang Hansen is potentially one of the most important players in the NBA, because of the value of reigniting the Chinese market.
“We are a generation past Yao Ming. So many millions of fans were created in China. It is so important for the NBA.
“Let me tell you who was stunned that he went that high in the draft – the Chinese were stunned. The fans didn’t even necessarily know that he was going to be this much of a player.
“What did they (Trail Blazers) do right after they drafted him? They cut Deandre Ayton… Their future is with Scoot Henderson and their big men they drafted.”
Yang Hansen could be looked at as the biggest steal of the NBA Draft in years to come, as he is showing a lot of potential right now.