The 2025 NBA Draft took place on June 26 in New York. Chinese player Yang Hansen was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 16th pick in the first round, becoming the 9th Chinese player to be drafted by the NBA. Today is also Yang Hansen's 20th birthday. He has presented a big gift to himself and Chinese basketball.
Yang Hansen was born on June 26, 2005 in Zibo, Shandong. Standing at 2.18 meters tall, he plays as a center on the court and currently plays for the Qingdao Guoxin Haitian Basketball Club in the CBA. Last season, Yang Hansen was named the CBA's Best Rookie and Best Defensive Player. This season, he was selected to the CBA's First Team of the Year and successfully defended his title as the Best Rookie.
To gain more recognition from teams, Yang Hansen has traveled to 14 NBA teams for tryouts in the past 27 days, flying 17 times and covering a total distance of 27,600 kilometers. He said, "I'm measuring the distance of my dream with my feet."
This morning, Yang Hansen was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 16th pick in the first round, which was much higher than what was expected by the outside world. At the same time, this is the third-highest pick for a Chinese player in the NBA draft. Previously, Yao Ming was the top pick in 2002, and Yi Jianlian was selected with the 6th pick in 2007.
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