Yang Hansen has epic quote about how he started playing basketball

Yang Hansen had an epic quote about what led him to start playing basketball.

Hansen was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and is now part of the Portland Trail Blazers. He is a 7-foot-2 center who averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 blocks per game during NBA Summer League.

Hansen has drawn big TV audiences from his home country of China while playing this summer. He was featured in a profile by The Washington Post’s Ben Golliver that was published on Sunday and delivered a great quote about how he got started playing basketball.

“I wasn’t that good at school, and I was a little bit of a fat boy,” Yang said. “My father told me to try some sports, figure out what you want to do and lose some weight. My father told me: ‘Don’t become fat.’”

The advice worked. Hansen began playing basketball and had success.

Prior to being drafted into the NBA, Hansen played professionally in China. The 20-year-old was a two-time All-Star in China’s CBA with Qingdao. He was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

Yang Hansen’s dad who cautioned him about becoming fat, Yang Lin, was an amateur player. He was able to put his son on the right path.