Some basketball players arrive like thunder. Yang Hansen? He’s more like a solar eclipse—rare, massive, and impossible to look away from. You see him, and for a second, you forget to breathe. Not because he’s throwing down windmills or pulling up from 35 feet. No, with Yang, the intrigue starts before the warmups. Because what exactly does a 7-foot-1 “fat boy” from China who once struggled in school and now headlines Portland’s Summer League roster do when the world starts watching?

“I wasn’t that good at school,” Yang told The Washington Post. “I was a little bit of a fat boy… My father told me to try some sports… My father told me: ‘Don’t become fat.’” So, he chose basketball. A decision that launched him from his hometown of Zibo to being the most-hyped Chinese prospect since Yao Ming. Now, the lights are on, and Yang is very much aware.

He’s not ducking the weight of expectations. In fact, he’s joking through it. “Yao is number one in paradise. Compared to him, I’m cold ash in a pot,” he quipped, letting out the kind of humility that somehow deepens the myth. That’s cultural reverence wrapped in Gen Z swagger. But there’s more than charisma here.

There’s pressure. There’s projection. And there’s the question every franchise asks itself before calling a name on draft night: is he for real? For China, the stakes are even higher. Yang Hansen is a headline. A hope. A new-age symbol of global potential. And he’s stepping into shoes the size of, well, Yao Ming’s — a legend who once drew 200 million viewers from China alone to a single game. Yang hasn’t hit those numbers… yet. But the Portland Trail Blazers’ gamble suggests they believe he could.

So far, he’s responded with flashes. In the Summer League, he’s shown defensive versatility, confident rim protection, and a willingness to make the right pass. He’s not going to dominate box scores out of the gate (10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists), but there’s an elegance to the way he reads the floor. Scouts like the feel. Coaches like the coachability. And fans? They’re already calling him the “Chinese Joker“. He’s not shy about the spotlight either.

“Attention doesn’t bother me… that’s part of the job. Sometimes you’ll see my face goes down. That doesn’t mean I’m frustrated. That means I want to go to sleep. I’ll save my words because I want to go to bed.” Yang said. If Summer League’s about identity, Yang Hansen’s carved his out in four games flat: unfiltered, unpredictable, and already unforgettable. But that’s not all.

Yang Hansen and the global gamble

The cameras follow him like he’s already an NBA star. And with his self-aware humor and translator-friendly quotes, the marketing potential is undeniable. Expect endorsement deals, social media to boom, and very well expect China to watch. And watch they have! After his Summer League debut, more than 5.2 million viewers tuned in from China to see him face the Memphis Grizzlies—on a free stream. For comparison? Just 1.1 million Americans watched Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick, debut on ESPN, according to an NBA official. One of Yang’s games on Tencent’s paywalled platform drew 3.4 million people—16 times the usual average. On China Central Television, the audience numbers for Yang’s games even outpaced this year’s NBA Playoffs.

“It’s a lot of pressure for sure… I just want to show the people in China I’m doing good,” he said. And well, mission accomplished. How? After his win against the Warriors, Chinese media member Kevin Wang said, “He’s currently the biggest name in China right now… No one expected this high for Hansen… but when Adam Silver said his name, obviously the whole nation is really hyped for sure.” But more than that, it’s Yang’s personal commitment that’s making him go above and beyond. 

Wang also said that, “He tried to speak English… That’s a big part of trying to get involved in this environment. You can tell he’s been working hard to get to this day.” And if Yang delivers, even incrementally, he becomes more than a player. He becomes a bridge. Between the past and the present. Between continents. Between worlds. Between cultures.

So what happens when a once-shy, out-of-shape kid from an industrial city in central Shandong province starts dropping dimes and deadpan quotes in the NBA’s most chaotic season? You watch. And you root. And maybe, just maybe, you believe the hype. Because with Yang Hansen, the story’s just getting started… and it’s already too good to script.