While American basketball fans were preoccupied with the arrival of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg at this month’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, it became quickly apparent to media and executives in attendance that there was an entirely separate phenomenon brewing within the Portland TrailBlazers organization.
A Star Is Born
Just weeks after Portland was roundly criticized for the puzzling decision to trade up several spots for center Yang Hansen, a second-round prospect dubbed the “Chinese Jokic”, with the 16th overall pick, the rookie almost immediately proved those folks (including myself) wrong with his play on the NBA’s summer circuit. But more importantly, the cavalcade of reporters from China that traveled to cover him proved that he might become the NBA’s next foreign phenomenon.
Yang quickly established himself among the American fans too, becoming a social media darling with his funny quotes while also becoming one of the few must-watch players in Las Vegas with his flashy passing and his ability to stuff the stat sheet. So, how did Yang’s journey to the NBA start? The same way many young men’s journey to prosperity does. A harsh, honest father.
“I wasn’t that good at school, and I was a little bit of a fat boy,” Yang said. “My father told me to try some sports, figure out what you want to do and lose some weight. My father told me, ‘Don’t become fat.’
Idols Become Rivals
That was just one of Yang’s quotes that went viral throughout the course of NBA Summer League. Another grin-inducing moment was brought on by Yang’s answer to a question about what he would say to his idol, Jokic, the first time their paths cross on an NBA floor.
Yang Hansen was asked what questions he’ll ask his idol Nikola Jokic when he plays him this year.
His response?
“Picture? Signature, please?”
Guys, this kid is going to be great 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/UbIius6RYR
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) July 12, 2025
Jokic certainly recognizes Yang’s potential as well, as someone with a similar play style and even a similar journey to the NBA. Jokic may have hinted at his own future, however, when asked about potentially facing off with Yang throughout the course of his blossoming career.
“He’s good,” Jokic said. “I’m happy that when he gets in his prime, I’m going to be out of the league. No, I’m not actually. He’s talented, he can have a picture whenever he wants, but only if he plays bad against me. If I destroy him and I score a lot of points, then yes, if he does that, then no.”
A Big Deal
One of the first things I noticed on the NBA Summer League media seating chart this year was the number of assigned seats given to Tencent, the Chinese media giant that serves as the country’s primary NBA broadcast partner. More seats than ESPN, more than any national newspaper. More than the NBA itself. For a moment, I naively wondered if Flagg was already that big of a global phenomenon, but that thought quickly dispersed when I remembered who Portland selected with the 16th pick.
If you aren’t familiar with the media frenzy that surrounded Yao Ming’s arrival to Houston in the early 2000s, it was a frenzy of epic proportions. In an era when Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James shone as some of the most recognizable athletes on the globe, it was Yao who led the league in All-Star votes for back-to-back seasons in 2004 and 2005.
A 2004 ESPN documentary titled “Year of the Yao” chronicled the center’s immediate stardom upon his arrival in the NBA, with his success contributing to him becoming one of the most famous people in the modern history of the world’s most populous nation.
Yang Hansen highlights, including his first poster dunk in the NBA!
“I think I’m not popular. I’m just nobody from China.”
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 13, 2025
The Hype Is Real
Yang doesn’t enter the league with half of the basketball-related hype that Yao did, but he’s also China’s best chance at having a native NBA superstar since Yao’s emergence over 20 years ago. That prospect alone has already made Yang a superstar in his home country, despite his relative unknown status in the United States.
Yang’s NBA Summer League debut attracted 5.4 million live viewers on Tencent in China, nearly five times as many as Flagg’s debut on ESPN in the States. Not only that, Tencent had a documentary crew following Yang’s every move and his media scrums rivaled the size of any No. 1 overall pick in recent memory. Whether or not he amounts to the hype is one thing, but the hype is very real.
