Unlike most NBA players who develop their passion for basketball early, Portland Trail Blazers first-round draft pick Yang Hansen didn’t take to the sport until he was about 13. “Before that, he didn’t want to run so much,

The center was considered by draft analysts as a rising prospect, but no one projected him to be a first-round pick.

The Portland Trail Blazers gave fans one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 NBA Draft by selecting center Yang Hansen with the 16th overall pick via a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. Hansen wasn't expected to go this high in the NBA Draft, as the 7-foot-2 center will join an upstart Trail Blazers team.