2024 NBA Draft: Hansen Yang Thriving in CBA
The 2024 NBA Draft is one of the most unique and fun draft’s that I have ever evaluated, and there will continue to be prospects rising and falling on draft boards.
A prospect that should be on more scout's radars is Hansen Yang out of China. The 7-foot-1 center is 18-years old and was relatively unknown until the summer of 2023. He was extremely productive in the U19 World Cup, where he averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks for China’s U19 team.
Yang is currently playing for China in the FIBA Cup Qualifiers, where he has been able to showcase his talents in front of the world. Against Mongolia, he was an offensive force as the combination of his size, passing ability and paint scoring was too much for them to handle.
He has been feasting in his first season in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Qingdao Double Star Eagles. The young big man has started every game for Qingdao in their 39 games played.
On the season he’s averaging 16 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game. At every level, Yang has played he has been very productive, which is a great thing to see out of such a young player. The young prospect is at his best when he has the ball in his hands in the low post, where he’s able to showcase his advanced footwork, post moves, touch around the rim and high-level feel for the game.
Yang has a variety of different moves he can utilize down in the low block, and his craftiness at that size allows him to be a consistent scorer for the teams he plays for. Not only is he a big-time scoring threat in the paint, but his vision and willingness as a passer makes it hard for opposing teams to double team him as he does a great job of taking what the defense gives him. Yang is one of the best passing 7-footers eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft, which will obviously draw the attention of NBA decision-makers and scouts.
Defensively, he lacks lateral quickness and overall mobility, which limits his ability to hedge ball-screens, switch and defend out in space. Yang is forced to play drop coverage, where he can be quite effective due to the flashes he has shown as a paint defender. The next step for Yang as he continues to mature and get older is to improve his overall athleticism. He’s not very quick, currently lacks ideal strength, is not a vertical athlete and his lackluster mobility isn’t ideal.
Yang might not have any plans to enter the 2024 NBA Draft, but he has been drawing a lot of interest recently. One scout I spoke to compared Yang to Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun due to the similarities they show on both ends of the floor. The 7-foot-1 talented center should certainly look into testing the waters as there’s a clear lack of star talent in this year’s draft and if he impresses scouts and NBA decision-makers in person then there’s a real chance we could see him rise into first round conversations for this year’s draft.
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