Portland Trail Blazers’ surprise draft pick receives Nikola Jokic comparison, it’s the highest possible praise

Yang Hansen labeled ‘Chinese Jokic’

In our mock draft, Hansen was expected to be a second-round pick. However, the Trail Blazers shocked the world with arguably one of the wildest picks ever.

Many are doubting the Trail Blazers’ decision, but according to Jake Fischer on X, the organization has reportedly landed the Chinese version of Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.

“A Nuggets source just texted me: ‘Chinese Jokic,’ about the Blazers’ surprise selection,” Fischer tweeted.

If this turns out to be true, the Trail Blazers have a generational superstar on their roster. After all, let’s not forget that even Jokic was the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Yang Hansen reveals how long the Portland Trail Blazers had been scouting him

Making a trade like this doesn’t happen out of the blue; the franchise must have planned the move well in advance.

Well, it was confirmed by Hansen during his post-draft interview that the Trail Blazers had been scouting him in China for the last couple of years.

“The Blazers had scouts scouting me in China the last couple years. I also had a pre-workout with them last month,” Hansen said, h/t ASAPtext.

He added: “Everything went very well and I got along with all the front-office people. But at the end of the day, this is sort of beyond my wildest imagination.”

It will be interesting to see what the Blazers will do in the future. After all, it feels like Hansen will be the center for the team for years to come.

This could mean Deandre Ayton could become available for teams as he is in the final year of his current contract with the franchise.