The joy brought by Yang Hansen is something young fans might not understand!

Brothers, first check out some fan comments.

@Two Boats

Had no appetite at lunch, went downstairs to buy instant noodles, saw Yang’s performance, and bought another pack! Cooking one and a half packs to eat!

@F.

Watching it made me add two extra dishes for myself

@Hangzhou Mobile Liang Weiquan

Thanks to the person feeding our little Yang the ball, when you come to China I’ll definitely treat you to something good. Shaxian International Hotel, Lanzhou noodles, Shengzhou, pick whatever you want first.

@Jie²ᜊMiⁿ

I immediately ordered a large serving of pork knuckle rice!! Awesome!

@Du

Lunch tasted especially good, dancing with my hands and feet in the canteen, others looked at me like I was crazy

@Jinse

I used to never find a reason to add chicken legs for myself, today I added two!

@Firefighting Report Construction Inspection Design Review Engineer Zhao

The beautiful lady boss of the pork knuckle rice shop asked me at noon why I ordered the 18-yuan pork knuckle rice with an extra chicken leg and a glass bottle of soy milk, while usually I only have the 13-yuan version with a bland soup with MSG.

I slightly smiled and teasingly said: “Could it be that Yang Hansen scored 14 points in a quarter and I wouldn’t sing with others? Old lady, really too nosy to ask...” (in Cantonese)

......

These messages lack fancy words but almost brought tears to my pork knuckle rice.

And this feeling is brought by Yang Hansen.

If you are a young fan, you might scoff at this:“Di Ge, it’s just a preseason game, is it really worth getting this excited?”

Little brother, it really is.

Because us old folks have been waiting a long time.

I can’t even remember when I last had this feeling.

Although we usually follow the NBA, if it weren’t for Yang Hansen, if there were no Chinese players, I wouldn’t spend over two hours watching an NBA preseason game.

Last season I barely watched full games of the Trail Blazers...

Nowadays, people get information in more fragmented ways, checking stats and highlights after games is normal.

Not to mention preseason, even in the past two years’ finals, patience is lacking.

We often complain “NBA isn’t as good as before,” why?

Besides rule changes, aging, more responsibilities, and favorite stars retiring, for Chinese fans, there’s another key reason:

The NBA stage hasn’t had a Chinese player firmly standing for a long time.

Simply put: since Yao Ming retired, there’s been an emotional void for Chinese basketball fans.

The Chinese men’s basketball team missed two Olympic Games, making fans feel: the excitement belongs to others, we have nothing... Plus the well-known 2019 incident, NBA’s popularity in China hit a low.

Now it’s 2025.

The NBA China Games are back, and the league recently formed a new partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association.

Future exchanges between Chinese men’s and women’s basketball and the NBA will be more frequent, such as sending teams to summer leagues, young players training in the US, and promoting basketball talent development.

This can be called an “ice-breaking journey.”

In this big context, Yang Hansen as the 16th pick naturally carries many expectations.

His performance matters greatly both for Chinese basketball and the NBA.

Back to the perspective of an ordinary fan.

Di Ge experienced the NBA golden era in China, when Chinese derbies were insanely popular.

So when Yang Hansen played well yesterday,What I saw was the cultural identity and national pride resonating among fans.

What I saw was the echo of our lost youth.

Your echo might be Yao Ming winning his first playoff round, playing against the Trail Blazers;

Your echo might be Yao Ming dribbling behind his back past Abdul-Rahim, also against the Trail Blazers;

Your echo might beYao Ming hitting a 2+1 with 1.9 seconds left, helping the Rockets take a 1-point leadBut then Roy caught the ball and hit a deep three with 0.8 seconds left to win it back, again against the Trail Blazers;

Your echo might be: “Send SMS A or B, A for home team Rockets, B for visiting Lakers. Nationwide users send to 10669999185 to vote for your team and win a Lakers jersey each quarter and a ‘Channel 5’ magazine.”

Your echo might be “Pass the ball to Yao Ming,” or “That play was unfair.”

Your echo might be arguing with classmates in front rows, or the sadness when Rockets were eliminated by the Jazz.

......

Seeing Yang Hansen’s performance, I suddenly recalled many old memories.

Fans’ feelings are just that simple.

Play well, praise a bit; play poorly, complain a bit.

But no matter what, you have a strong feeling:Having a Chinese player who can stand firm and play well in the NBA is a unique feeling.

Yao retired 14 years ago; for young fans who didn’t experience Yao’s era, Yang might be a young, fresh idol.

For an “old timer” like me who watched all Yao’s playoffs, took notes in a small notebook by the TV, and secretly followed text live broadcasts in class, it’s an emotional anchor that words can hardly describe.

If Yang Hansen can establish himself and play steadily in the NBA in the future, I believe many old fans who stopped playing or watching will be willing to turn on the TV and CCTV5 again.

Even if the stars they followed have long retired, the comics they read have ended, their favorite singers have retired, the authors they admired have passed away, and their idols have vanished...

But the emotional support for Chinese players competing in the NBA has always been simple and sincere.

Therefore, for the Portland Trail Blazers, having the chance to become the “home team” for Chinese fans is significant.

Perhaps, just as we remember Novak, Weaver, Landry, Hayes, years later we will chant names like Love, Luyepel, Sisoko, and clearly recall their styles...

Yang Hansen doesn’t need to be the “next XXX,” he only needs to carve his own path.

A simple sentence to end today’s post:

I feel the NBA is coming back...