‘The biggest name in China’: Yang Hansen’s star power becoming transcendent in home country

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Yang Hansen has certainly been the conversation topic at Summer League for the Blazers, but he’s also the conversation topic for an entire country, as he’s the first Chinese player to be drafted in the first round in nearly 20 years.

“No one expected this high for Hansen,” said Beijing-based Chinese media member Kevin Wang. “But when Adam Silver said his name, obviously the whole nation is really hyped for sure.”

Even though people in China were caught off guard by Hansen’s draft position, Wang says everyone there knew for the past two years that it was a matter of when, not if, Hansen heard his name called.

Naturally, a lot of attention followed.

“Every time an NBA scout visited Qingdao’s games, it was always on the news,” said Wang. “People would try to ask the scout, like, ‘Hey, what do you guys think of Hansen in the NBA in the future?’ They may not answer, but you can see how much interest people had on that.”

While all of that was going on, Yang wasn’t just evolving on the court. Wang makes an important point of how the center evolved off it as well and how that helped him get to where he is now.

“He tried to speak English,” said Wang. “That’s a big part of trying to get involved in this environment. You can tell he’s been working hard to get to this day.”

Chinese basketball fans are, understandably, very dedicated to their specific teams and thus they have their biases against other teams or players.

Obviously though, Hansen has now transcended those emotions.

“The day he got drafted and the day he represented the national team over there, no one would think that he was some local player. Everybody thinks he’s a Chinese player. He’s currently the biggest name in China right now,” said Wang. “I know a lot of people have already planned their trip to Portland.”