With the 2025 NBA Draft around a month away, teams are scouting and hoping to find their next big players. Hansen Yang has drawn the attention of multiple NBA teams who traveled to China to scout him personally. These teams include the likes of the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New Orleans Pelicans.
This certainly implies that Yang’s draft range could be in the mid-20s through the mid-30s. Yang dominated in the CBA for the second season in a row. Yang is averaging 16.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game on 58/30/66 shooting splits. There should be next to zero doubts about Yang’s ability to have a long NBA career, and there’s an argument that he has future all-star potential in the NBA.
NBA Draft Prospect Hansen Yang’s Five Possible Landing Spots
Knowing the teams that are interested in him, which came to visit him, and where his draft range roughly is going to be, let’s look at five possible landing spot for one of the best players currently playing in China.
Teams that sent scouts to China specifically to evaluate Hansen Yang:
– Atlanta Hawks (picking at 13 & 22)
– Brooklyn Nets (8, 19, 26, 27, 36)
– Charlotte Hornets (4, 33, 34)
– Indiana Pacers (23, 54)
– Minnesota Timberwolves (17, 31)
– New Orleans Pelicans (7)via @titan_plus pic.twitter.com/oMEzasutbi
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5) Los Angeles Lakers
If you want to find a big market team who is in dire need of a big, look no further than the Los Angeles Lakers. For the Lakers, they could draft Yang in the second round. This is the Lakers’ first draft without their former big man, Anthony Davis, being on the team. Now, it’s time to look towards the future and see who you could get to begin to fill those shoes.
Now, it’s certainly not going to be easy shoes to fill by any means. However, it’s time to start looking for that next big thing, and Yang could certainly find himself on one of the biggest markets in the world today, and he’s already better than Jaxson Hayes.
4) Chicago Bulls
Similar to the Lakers, the Chicago Bulls are a big market team is in desperate need of a big man to round out their rotation. In 2024-25, their center spot was taken up by Nikola Vucevic, who was backed up by Zach Collins, Jalen Smith, and EJ Liddell.
With Vucevic being 34 years old, Collins being an average 27-year-old, and Smith and Liddell being rather inexperienced, it’s time to start looking more towards the future. Vucevic is a very good player, but his age is beginning to show, so it’s time to look ahead to who may be next.
3) San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs could certainly be in the market for a center to back up their young rookie sensation, Victor Wembanyana. If they’re looking for some depth at the center position, which they should be, they could certainly pick Yang with their 38th overall pick in the beginning of the second round.
Many fans think that the Spurs should sign a more experienced backup center. However, learning behind Wembanyana for a year could certainly make Yang a very intriguing long-term player for San Antonio. After all, in the sport of basketball you could never have too many big men.
2) Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have already endeared themselves to Chinese fans when they landed Jacky Cui last offseason. Cui spent the early part of the 2024-25 NBA season on the Nets G-League team, the Long Island Nets before tearing his ACL and getting waived. The Nets are looking for a big, and could land someone like Yang for multiple reasons.
First and foremost, Yang could make their team better. There’s many talks about their current big Nic Claxton, and his future is anything but certain. The Nets could also market to China too around Yang, including having him play a preseason game with them in China this upcoming season.
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1) Houston Rockets
Throughout the 2024-25 season, Alperen Sengun played as much as he could, continuing to wow fans with his impressive play only in his third season. Sengun is only 22-years-old and has a lifetime of basketball left to play. So, the Rockets picking Yang wouldn’t affect Sengun as Sengun will be the top guy for as long as he wants at that spot.
However, the problems start after Sengun. 31-year old, Steven Adams, is the back-up to Sengun, and he’s followed by the injured Jock Landale, 38-year-old Jeff Green, and the inexperienced Jabari Smith Jr. The Rockets could certainly bring Yang in to start looking towards the future. Yang could certainly have a back-up spot in line as he has not much competition to do so.
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