Yang Hansen came to the Portland Trail Blazers with a bunch of hype.
The franchise made a draft night trade to align themselves to get him with the No. 16 overall pick, and he comes with comparisons to Nikola Jokic.
That status has made his early rookie season struggles a bit annoying to Blazers fans who wanted to see him hit the ground running.
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One social media poster recently shared Hansen’s underwhelming early-career stats. Evidently, the post made its way to Hansen.
He responded in adorable fashion.
I try my best with the minutes I have 😓 https://t.co/1NLnseaFKU
— Yang Hansen (@YangHansenn) October 30, 2025
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Hansen was a great interview from draft night on, including at Summer League and throughout the preseason. He’s clearly got quite the personality.
He also wasn’t a logical choice to expect early contributions from. The Chinese professional league, the CBA, is a lot lower level than the NBA. Even though Hansen was good there, it would’ve been hard for him to adjust to the speed and physical level of the game at the highest level.
Hansen can eventually grow into a good or even great player.
For now, he’s just making the most of what he’s got.
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