Yang Hansen Photo: VCG

Former Qingdao Eagles player Yang Hansen was picked by the NBA franchise the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday, making him the third Chinese basketball player to be selected in the first round after Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.

The Blazers' 16th pick was acquired through a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, and initial reports suggest that the Trail Blazers have no immediate plans to trade Yang.

"My legs are shaking a bit right now. I'm completely taken by surprise and extremely excited," Yang reacted after the pick. "The Trail Blazers came to watch me play in China, and they were the first team I had a tryout with."

Yang had participated in tryouts with 14 NBA teams before the NBA Draft.

Seeing that Yang had been picked, general manager of the Qingdao Eagles Zhang Beihai expressed his pride and optimism during the live broadcast.

"Chinese youth training systems are fully capable of cultivating NBA-caliber players," Zhang said. "Yang's entry into the NBA further strengthens our belief in the importance of deeply investing in youth training."

Yang's pick followed in the footsteps of the legendary Yao, who was chosen as the No.1 overall pick in 2002, and Yi, who was selected sixth in the first round in 2007.

Standing at 2.18 meters, Yang is considered one of the top prospects in China.

Yang has spent the previous two seasons playing for the Qingdao Eagles in the Chinese basketball top flight CBA. He played 51 games as a rookie in 2023-24 and logged 45 more appearances in 2024-25, averaging a career-high 16.6 points in the season.

He also averaged 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.6 blocks per game in his second year with the team while shooting 58.6 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the 3-point range.

Yang's draft was welcomed by the Chinese basketball governing body.

"We are delighted to learn that Chinese basketball player Yang Hansen was selected 16th overall in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft and will join the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers," the Chinese Basketball Association said in a statement on Thursday.

The association noted that Yang had demonstrated "outstanding abilities and great potential" in the past two CBA seasons, emerging as a promising talent for both his club and the national team.  

"We hope that through matches against more international high-level players, he will continue to improve his skills and push beyond his limits. We look forward to his future performances on the global stage, where he will bring glory to Chinese basketball," said the statement.