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Twenty-three years ago, Yao Ming changed basketball in China forever. The Hall-of-Fame NBA center helped the sport become the most popular in the country after being drafted No. 1 in 2002, showing that a Chinese player could become a star in the best league in the world.
Today, basketball courts and NBA jerseys are found everywhere throughout the country. Games are broadcast regularly on CCTV-5. Yet in spite of the sport's immense popularity, China hasn't been able to produce an NBA rotation player since Yao's retirement in 2011.
Hansen Yang has a chance to break that streak.
There have been a few hopefuls. Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, and Zhou Qi were able to get drafted. Jacky Qui logged 10 minutes for the Nets as the lone Chinese-born basketball player last season. Lin Wei is a fringe second-round prospect in the 2025 draft.
None of those players have had successful NBA careers. That was part of the reason why Yao took on the job of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) president in 2017.
"If 10 years from now we still use Yao Ming to represent China, it's a failure on my job," Yao told SI's Alex Prewitt in 2019. "We need a new star to rise up. Then I can sit behind desk. This is my goal."
Yao didn't give himself that 10-year runway that he promised back then, stepping down from the CBA in late 2024 after a string of disappointing performances from the men's national team. And China still hasn't produced a recognizable NBA talent since his retirement.
A projected second-round big man will be the next to give it a shot.
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Hansen Yang is not the next Yao Ming, but he is an intriguing prospect
The comparisons between Yao and Yang are inevitable. Both are centers out of China. They have a relationship — Yao has given Yang some pointers here and there. But Yang is a very different prospect.
"I think my way and Yao’s way is different in how we play the game," Yang told HoopsHype's Cyro Asseo during the 2025 draft combine.
Let's start with the similarities. Like Yao, Yang is a great shot blocker. Yang was named the CBA's 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league with his 2.7 blocks per game. Measuring at 7-foot-1 without shoes and 253 pounds at the combine, he has great size and massive hands. That is his biggest strength, according to ESPN draft expert Jay Bilas.
"He’s good in post ups, he’s got a very nice touch around the rim, and he’s very good on the offensive glass," Bilas told Sporting News. "He gets a number of putbacks. He can block some shots."
The similarities between the two end there, mostly due to the different era that the two played in. What makes Yang an intriguing prospect is his passing ability.
Yao was a good passer in an era where big men didn't do nearly as much facilitating. Yang has the potential to be a great one, which is a role NBA teams are looking for from big men more and more.
Yang first showed up on NBA radars after an impressive 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup showing in which he averaged 12.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 5.0 blocks against good competition, including the likes of top 2024 NBA draft picks Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher.
He says his best NBA comparisons are passing centers like Alperen Sengun, Nikola Jokic, and Domantas Sabonis. That shows up in his film and in his scrimmage performances during this year's draft combine.
What a pass from Hansen Yang pic.twitter.com/sBg5jHNsg1
— Keandre Ashley (@HoopIntelllect) May 15, 2025Jared Sullinger was selected in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft, playing five years between the Celtics and Raptors before heading overseas. The 2024 CBA MVP told Sporting News that he'd played against Yang four or five times and understood some of those comparisons to Vucevic and Sengun.
"You could see that," Sullinger said. "He’s got the good jump hook left and right, he’s got the half spin from Sengun."
Sullinger thinks that Yang, who will turn 20 on the day of the 2025 draft, will probably need some time in the G-League. Eventually though, he should have a long NBA career.
"He’s a very good basketball player. Very skilled, very mature for his age. He has very good footwork. He plays with physicality, he can rebound the ball. He’s a very good project for the NBA game because you can’t teach his size, you can’t teach his feel for the game."
Yang does have some areas that he needs to improve in. He shot only 29 percent from 3 and 68 percent from the line last season. Those who have watched him closely believe in his shooting potential.
"He’s a pretty good midrange shooter," Sullinger said. "I guarantee you playing in the NBA, he’s gonna be a way better shooter, because the NBA makes people better shooters."
Bilas agreed with Sullinger's evaluation.
"He’s not a high percentage 3-point shooter, but he can step away and knock down an open 3. He’s not going to hit a lot of them, but he can do that," Bilas told SN. "His shooting touch is really nice."
Yang's foot speed on defense is his main weakness, limiting his ability to play in multiple different types of coverages.
"There are some times where he struggles against elite guards or huge bigs, but he can fare with his brain," Sullinger noted of Yang's defensive play in China.
Yang's size is obvious to see and makes him a draft-worthy prospect. The other parts of his game are more difficult to evaluate, in large part because of the challenges that come with scouting out of the CBA.
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Issues with scouting in the Chinese Basketball Association
Yang is more of a mystery than most players in this draft class. He did attend the combine, where scouts got to see him up close in drills and a handful of scrimmages. And he's subsequently interviewed with a handful of teams. But there are inherent challenges in evaluating CBA prospects, as one draft scout working for an NBA team told Sporting News.
"The place to start with international leagues is trying to calibrate the level of athlete that plays there and the overall style of play that can find success," the scout said. "The CBA is unique because important players can stand out so wildly from an athletic and scoring perspective."
Foreign-born players like Sullinger are generally a cut above the Chinese competition. Because they are so dominant, the league's rules limit teams to playing two import players at a time during the first three quarters, and only one during the fourth quarter. Those quirks make it difficult to contextualize Yang's 16.2 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Quingdao Eagles last year.
"For a player like Yang, it's especially challenging because it's hard to rely on the stats," the scout said. "There are very few reference points of players, let alone teenage prospects, going from China to be impactful in the NBA without being tested in college or another pro league."
"For any tough evals or contexts, scouts often rely on intel — sources we trust close to the players who can give us pieces of the puzzle we need. But the CBA has been very protective and secretive with Yang in a lot of ways, which further complicates trying to solve him," the scout added.
Sullinger agrees that the competition in the CBA isn't at the level of the NBA. It's changed though since the days where playing for China was considered a punchline.
"It’s not as easy as everyone thinks it is. It takes a lot of effort," Sullinger said. "You play at 7:35 at night. The next morning, you’re getting on a commercial flight, heading to the next city to practice, and probably playing a game that following day. People don’t understand how hard it is to do that."
There are some significant differences in the league. The athleticism is undoubtedly much higher in the NBA. Sullinger noted that there are so many more players who can put the ball on the floor in the NBA, and the dribble-pass-shoot skill level is higher too.
The CBA can be fast and physical, but there are more halfcourt possessions. There is no defensive three second rule, and 2-3 zone is much more frequent. Yang was a ball-dominant big who played out of the post. He will have to learn how to play more off the ball and adjust to NBA-style defense.
Those uncertainties, along with some of Yang's defensive mobility issues, will have him likely going at the end of the first round or early second round. ESPN's Jeremy Woo has him at No. 36 to the Nets, as does The Athletic's Sam Vecenie. Sporting News' Gil McGregor has him going No. 38 to the Spurs.
Yang could end up as one of the steals of the draft. Big men with his size, passing, and feel don't come around very often. He might not be the next Yao, but he can be the first Yang.
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