The Blazers’ wild NBA Draft pick is already being called ‘Chinese Jokic’ by one team

The Portland Trail Blazers shocked the NBA world by trading down with the Memphis Grizzlies and then selecting Chinese center Hansen Yang with the No. 16 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

As our friends at Blazer’s Edge noted, proof this was a pick that was a bit off the board was The Ringer having Yang mocked at pick No. 40, while ESPN had him projected as the 36th pick, so his being selected in the top 20 was definitely a surprise.

But there was once another seven-footer from overseas who was projected (and ultimately went) in the second round before becoming one of the best players in NBA history, and none other than the front office that selected said three-time MVP told NBA insider Jake Fischer that they see some Nikola Jokic in Yang:

That is an incredible draft night comp in that it’s completely unhinged, wildly unrealistic, and follows the rule that every prospect must be compared to a star so that fans can understand their game.

And look, I won’t claim to have watched much Qingdao Double Star Eagles basketball in the CBA last season, but if you look at Yang’s highlights… well, the comp is still crazy, but mostly because Jokic is a wild comp for anyone!

But still, you can at least see the skill that might lead someone high on Yang’s game to make the comparison when watching his best plays:

And even Jokic never won Rookie of the Year twice:

Can Yang make it a threepeat in the NBA? Our own NBA Draft expert, Ricky O’Donnell — who has been projecting the NBA draft for over a decade — is less sure. He liked the pick a lot less than said anonymous Nuggets employee, giving the selection a D in his live draft grades:

I liked Hansen as a potential second rounder for his size and passing, but this is a shocking selection. The Blazers already have another huge center in Donovan Clingan who they took in the top-10 last year, and I don’t think they can play together. This is just confusing to me, but at least Portland did well to trade down and pick up extra assets.

We’ll see if Ricky or this unnamed Nuggets staffer is more right in the end, but all I know is this: Fischer’s tweet has a chance to be iconic either way, and if Yang pans out, I’m putting leaking that to him on my resume if I’m that Nuggets person.

Joe Cronin, Mike Schmitz and the Blazers were brave to take Yang so high, but you know what’s braver? Comparing him to Nikola Jokic before he plays a single NBA game when you work for the team that Jokic plays for. That’s the stuff true takesmen are made of.