Hansen Yang Is Not a Sleeper, He Might Be a Future All-Star

Since Yao Ming, NBA teams have willingly rolled the dice on young Chinese prospects in the NBA Draft, and so far, they have not panned out. Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi were mostly unproductive overall NBA players, and that has tainted front offices’ confidence in selecting dominant prospects from the Chinese Basketball Association. This cloud of doubt hangs over 2025 NBA Draft prospect Hansen Yang, who is dominating in the CBA for the second season running. 

Yang is averaging 16.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.7 blocks, and 1.0 steal per game on 58/30/66 shooting splits. There should be next to zero doubts about Yang’s ability to have a long NBA career, and there’s an argument that he has future all-star potential in the NBA. The way Yang dominates the game in the CBA is far different than former Chinese big Zhou Qi. Looking at old pre-draft film of Qi, his problems were obvious. He was frail, got pushed around by smaller players, and was a mostly stationary half-court player. A lot of his points came from easy transition opportunities where he was too tall for anyone to make a play on him. 

Yang could not be more different. He has NBA size and strength, coming in at 7-foot-1 and roughly 250 pounds. He is immovable in the CBA. He dominated the backboards at both ends by getting into whatever rebounding position he wanted, and opponents often have to hope the ball doesn’t bounce his way. 

On offense, he is regularly the fulcrum of his teams’ actions and plays. On most of his possessions, he catches the ball at the top of the arc, similar to the likes of Nikola Jokic, Domantas Sabonis, and others. He even brings the ball up the court sometimes if his teammates are being pressured full court. From the top, he evaluates and looks to either attack his man, quickly move the ball to a teammate on the perimeter or in the post (his teammate, Jordan Mickey, works well with him in high-low offense), or initiate a dribble handoff that looks unguardable. His size makes it very difficult for opposing guards to get around him, and if they or the big guarding him cheat too much, he attacks or finds an open teammate. 

His passing reads aren’t perfect yet, but he’s got a good foundation and apparent room for growth. His comfort in putting the ball on the floor and making use of his strength to overpower opponents while maintaining grace with his strides and touch around the rim is exquisite. Yang doesn’t rock the world with his mobility, but for his size, it’s impressive. He changes directions well and also runs the floor on transition opportunities. He knows the power of his strength, too, and has shown off the ability to Gortat-screen for his teammates a number of times this season. 

On the defensive end, there are some clear limitations for Yang. He defends every pick and roll in drop coverage and usually opts for deep drop. He does not switch onto the perimeter, and it doesn’t look like that’s a skill he’ll ever have. He does have good anticipation skills, though; he sees the whole floor and makes use of his size and strength to deter all opponents at the rim. He’s not an elite shot-blocker, but he does offer resistance and closes possessions with his rebounding prowess. 

Yang is a stud. NBA teams should be comfortable selecting him anywhere after the lottery. His game is polished for his age, with clear room to grow. He’s a skilled big man with a modern skillset that projects to translate to the NBA comfortably. The defense is not perfect but definitely passable, and long-term concerns about him should be rooted in the potential challenges his defensive limitations will pose in assembling a contender around him. He will likely require a secondary big alongside him who provides mobility and additional rim protection while also spacing the floor at the other end. Those players don’t grow on trees in the NBA and are highly sought after by practically every team in the league. But a talent like Yang should make any team talented enough to have some time to find the right pieces to fit around his skillset. 

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