Yang Hansen seems to steal the spotlight from Cooper Flagg in the NBA Summer League. The Portland Trail Blazers drafted him this year, and now he is becoming a sensation who draws more followers than Flagg, the current star of the Dallas Mavericks.
The 20-year-old Chinese player is overshadowing Flagg on social media and in the press. In fact, according to a report by Firstsportz, his name dominates conversations about U.S. men’s basketball.
One advantage Yang Hansen is taking this season is that the Mavericks left Flagg out of the rest of the Summer League. He is one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 Draft, picked 16th overall, and gave the Trail Blazers the hope they needed for the 2025-26 season.
Feature: Yang Hansen, a towering jester with a “fat boy” past, is the NBA’s star of the summer.
The @trailblazers rookie, who drew 5.4 million Chinese viewers for a summer league game, on life, pressure, Yao Ming & the glory of sleep @washingtonpost https://t.co/FdBrIgXB3S
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 20, 2025
A rising star for the Trail Blazers
Even Hansen was surprised by this decision. However, he gains more and more prominence as the Summer League progresses. If the Blazers took a risk with this move, it proved to be a smart decision, since the young Chinese player performs excellently.
His performances are impressive. He also attracted 5.4 million Chinese viewers to the Summer League, who support this rising star and have even made him a viral topic within the NBA. When compared to Cooper Flagg, he clearly leaves him behind, as Flagg only attracted 1.1 million viewers on his debut.
Some experts compare Yang Hansen’s current situation to that of Yao Ming, a Hall of Famer who became the center of attention when he started in the NBA.
