Chinese basketball star Yang Hansen earns NBA draft

Chinese basketball star Yang Hansen was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the No.16 pick in the NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday.

He became the ninth Chinese player ever drafted into the NBA, and the first since 2016 to enter the league through the draft — marking the return of Chinese players to the NBA Draft after a nine-year absence.

Yang is the highest-drafted Chinese player since Yi Jianlian, who went 6th overall in 2007. Such a milestone would not only mark a personal achievement for Yang but also signal a potential resurgence of Chinese talent in the NBA pipeline.