Chinese men s basketball rookie Yang Hansen successfully entered the 16th pick in the NBA in the first round!

At the recently held 2025 NBA Draft, Chinese player Yang Hansen was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 16th pick in the first round, successfully entering the NBA, becoming the third player in Chinese basketball history to enter the first round of the NBA after Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. Although initially expected to be the second round of the 55th pick, he finally made a comeback and entered the first round and almost rushed into the lottery zone. The outside world expressed doubts about whether I could enter the first round successfully, believing that it was relying on the background of the Chinese market and was a script for obtaining the admission of 985 universities through abnormal channels. However, only I am well aware of the hardships on this road. After 28 days of trial training, it spans 27,600 kilometers, and every day it is just training. When someone asked me if I was tired, I replied, "It's nothing, a small matter."

Back in the summer of 2024, the NBA ushered in a rare year of draft. For professional basketball players, such opportunities are undoubtedly extremely precious, and missing may mean losing forever. Seeing my eldest brother Choi Yongxi heading to the United States without fear to pursue his dreams, but I, who had high expectations from the outside world, voluntarily withdrew under the expectation of everyone.

When Yang Hansen voluntarily gave up participating in the 2024 NBA Draft, public opinion immediately surrounded me. Some suspect I was spoiled, and some even maliciously speculated that I quit because of lack of basic life skills such as driving and cooking.

Faced with doubts, Yang Hansen could only silently devote himself to training and chose to prove himself with his strength. After hard work, he performed well in the joint trial training, and his selection rankings rose steadily. In the end, his wish was to stand beside the president of the league. All questions were answered, and the former ridicule became praise. As Huang Bo said, when you succeed, you will find that you are surrounded by good people. From going out to unexpected success, Yang Hansen's joining ended the 18-year wait in the Chinese basketball world. For his personal career, it may be just a small beginning, but for the entire Chinese basketball community, it is an important step of historic significance. Although everyone hopes that I will become the next Yao Ming and the Jokic of China, I am more willing to be my true self, after all, everything has just begun. My basketball journey is still long, please stay tuned and looked forward to it.