Surprising picks and stunning trades are through lines each year at the NBA Draft and part of what makes the event such a fascinating spectacle. But the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday during the first round of the draft made a selection so unexpected and so astonishing -- drafting Chinese center Yang Hansen at No.

Anonymous NBA front-office executive throws shade towards the Portland Trail Blazers for taking Hansen Yang in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Blazers began scouting Yang in 2023 and had no hesitation about taking the 7-2 center earlier than many projected he would go off the board.