For the Second Season in a Row, Hansen Yang’s Talent Is Undeniable

Chinese center prospect Hansen Yang is off to a hot start in the Chinese Basketball Association for the second season in a row. His talent is undeniable, but how transferable do we believe Yang's skillset is to the modern NBA?

Hansen Yang / fiba.basketbal

Hansen Yang is very good at basketball. At only 19 years old, he is picking up where he left off last season in the Chinese Basketball Association and continuing to be a dominant force. Last season, Yang averaged 14.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game. This season, he’s back with Qingdao and looks even better. Through six games he’s averaging 14.8 points, 11.7 rebounds, and four assists per game. His assists are up while his turnovers are down from 3.5 per game to 2.8 per game. 

How much of that can transfer to the NBA? Yang opted not to enter the 2024 NBA Draft, but if he continues to impress this season, he could be worth a flyer in a higher draft range. At 7-foot-1 and 249 pounds, his combination of size and skill is practically a cheat code in the CBA and while he wouldn’t be a conventional NBA center, we have seen skilled bigs like Yang still be successful in the NBA. 

Yang has great finesse to his game. He glides around the court, even at his size. He changes directions exceptionally well compared to other 7-footers, has soft hands, a deft touch around the rim, and likes to use the glass to finish instead of dunking. The sample size on his jump shot is small, and he has room for improvement on free throw shooting - 62 percent so far this season and last season - but his form is solid for a big, and the shot has touch. It’s unlikely he will develop into a gravity-altering stretch big but he could be someone you don’t want to leave open. 

His footwork is excellent, and his ability to use ball fakes and body shakes to get his defenders to move how he wants them to is a sight to behold. His overall approach to scoring isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a player with his build, especially in the CBA, but it’s getting results. 

There is a downside though, and the downside is that Yang seems to struggle with more physical styles, even when he has a mismatch. Generally speaking, his size doesn’t seem to translate to on-court strength. He struggles to back down opposing defenders in the low post, and when guards are in his way he tries to euro step around them, make use of a floater, or do almost anything other than dunk them into the floor like he should. This could be connected to his struggles at the free throw line, but we all know that can be a slippery slope after watching prospects like Ben Simmons lose almost value in the NBA due to a combination of bad free throw shooting and unassertive finishing. 

Yang's preference for finesse over force isn’t necessarily a negative for him as a prospect. It could be argued that it’s a positive. There are very few successful offense-oriented bruising centers in the modern NBA, and Yang’s skill means he could still be impactful in matchups where he’s overmatched physically. However, he does need to show the ability to recognize and punish mismatches with his size. At 7-foot-1, guards shouldn’t stand a chance against you on the low block or alter your shot around the rim. Remind them that basketball is a sport where height generally reigns supreme. 

On defense, Yang is difficult to assess. For starters, the CBA isn’t known for its defense. Yang plays a lot of deep drop coverage for Qingdao, and while he does offer a rim deterrent with his size, he gets caught back there with his hands down and sometimes doesn’t rotate back to contest an open shot from the opposing center at all. But there’s reason to believe Yang could improve at this end. 

The way he moves on offense with long and smooth strides, and overall impressive balance for his size, is something that could translate to the defensive end with proper drilling and technique. His overall fluidity could lead to him becoming a solid ground-covering center who likely would still struggle to defend in space, but still be a solid rim protector. 

It is early days for Yang but he seems to be building on the draft stock he established last season, and if that continues he could move into higher consideration in the second round and be a worthwhile gamble for a number of teams with their second-round pick. He’ll only be 20 on the day of the 2025 NBA Draft and have plenty of time to continue to improve as a player.

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