At 7-foot-1 with an ability to score, China’s Yang comes to draft combine looking for an NBA shot

CHICAGO (AP) — Yang Hansen had just taken questions for about 20 minutes in his native Mandarin, then decided to show off a little of his English as he walked out of the room.

“Bye bye,” he said, stretching his arm skyward as he waved farewell. “Bye bye.”

When it comes to English, he might still have much to learn. When it comes to basketball, he’s trying to show that he knows plenty already.

Yang — a 7-foot-1, 253-pound center from China — is one of a slew of international players at the draft combine in Chicago this week, meeting with teams, getting measured and being put through drills. He also is taking part in the 5-on-5 scrimmaging, under the watchful eye of executives from every NBA team.

He turns 20 on June 26, the day that the Round 2 picks in this year’s NBA draft will get selected. That might turn out to be a fairly memorable birthday for the Chinese big man.

“He really feels happiness here,” Chris Liu, Yang’s interpreter, said after relaying Yang questions from The Associated Press. “And then, he’s really willing to compete with everyone and against everyone. He really enjoyed that.”

Yang knows there is an inevitable comparison. Any Chinese center until probably the end of time is going to be asked about Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming, who at 7-foot-6 was by far the best Chinese player ever to hit the NBA.

Yang is not Yao. Being the next Yao, that’s not realistic. Being the best version of Yang is the goal. He has gifts: a nice touch around the basket and solid passing ability among them. He also has things to work on, as would almost any 19-year-old trying to get into the league.

“Yao Ming is my predecessor,” Yang said in Mandarin. “I have always respected him. I want to learn from him.”

There is a learning curve that goes beyond the language barrier. Liu has been sitting with Yang on the bench and in the huddles at games during the combine, translating what’s being said by coaches and others. But when Yang goes into games, he doesn’t need much in the way of additional explanation.

Yang averaged 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game in the Chinese Basketball Association this past season and was an All-CBA first-team selection. And this draft combine isn’t his first foray into the NBA world — he was on a team that China sent last year to the California Classic summer league, one of the prequels to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Yang also has been working out in Los Angeles in recent weeks, with former Florida Atlantic and Michigan center Vladislav Goldin — another draft hopeful — among those who were with him for some of those sessions. Goldin and Yang were matched up in one of the draft combine scrimmages.

“We kind of know each other now,” Goldin said. “It was just cool.”

There have been only a handful of Chinese-born players to reach the NBA. Cui Yongxi was the only one this season; the 6-foot-6 shooting guard appeared in five games with the Brooklyn Nets before tearing his ACL in a G League game.

Yang might be facing long odds. He doesn’t seem worried.

“I will do my best,” he said.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA