Yang Hansen ranks third in the NBA for this statistic! A weakness for the Chinese men's basketball team, yet it shines as his strength.

The NBA, being the most successful basketball league globally, really has every kind of technical stat...

This makes it easier for them to analyze and research players.

Yesterday, I came across an advanced stat on the NBA official website:

Yang Hansen’s screen assists per 36 minutes this season reached 7.1, placing him third in the league, only behind Daron Holmes and Dwight Powell.

Following him are players like Cornett, Dylan Caldwell, Iguodala, and Marvin Bagley.

What exactly is a screen assist?

It measures the value of off-ball screens.

It refers to a player legally using their body to set screens, such as pick-and-rolls or off-ball screens, to directly create scoring chances for teammates.

Who excels at this? Rockets’ Adams.

In the 21-22 season, Adams was the only NBA player to lead in screen assists, boxing out, and offensive rebounds simultaneously.

What does it take to rank high on this list?

High-quality screens, precise timing and positioning, strong team chemistry and communication, as well as understanding and executing the team’s tactical system.

With so many NBA statistics available, I’m not just picking one to praise Yang Hansen randomly; meaningless hype is pointless.

His third-place ranking for screen assists per 36 minutes is largely due to his limited playing time and small sample size; when scaled to 36 minutes, the numbers look inflated.

However, if you watch the Trail Blazers’ games, you’ll notice Yang Hansen is genuinely very good at creating opportunities for teammates through screens.

He has repeatedly created direct scoring chances for teammates like Avdiya, Sharpe, and Wesley.

He uses screens very adeptly.

In this particular play, traditional stats don’t record anything for Yang Hansen.

But coaches see it, and the NBA advanced database quantifies his value through specific numbers.

What I want to highlight today is that this strength of Yang Hansen’s actually exposes a major flaw that has plagued Chinese men’s basketball across all levels for years.

From professional to amateur, from senior teams to youth categories, there is a common problem: the poor quality of screens set by inside players.

Why was Lee Hyun-jung able to dominate us?

When asked by Chinese media about the failure of perimeter defense, he credited his hot shooting night of 9 three-pointers to high-quality screens from teammates and the coach’s tactical trust.

This is not modesty; it’s the truth.

Here lies a point for reflection.

Chinese men’s basketball has repeatedly exposed poor screen quality in multiple games, which clearly undermines the effectiveness of pick-and-roll offense.

Specifically, players set loose body contact and unstable positioning when screening, failing to effectively block defenders.

This problem exists from Zhou Qi to Hu Jinqiu.

One stat shows that in two games against Korea, the pick-and-roll execution error rate was as high as 28%.

If the center’s screen quality is poor and they cannot hold their defender, failing to create space for the ball-handler, then it becomes very difficult for the guards to initiate offense. Since our wings rarely have the ability to set effective screens, the offense looks even more stagnant.

When pick-and-rolls fail, it often reduces to Zhou Qi’s isolation plays.

The same applies in the league; most screens set by centers are just formal positioning, with players used to "fake screens," lacking advanced tactics like deception and off-ball screening.

If you watch European basketball, you’ll see they frequently use fake pick-and-rolls followed by slips...

We are rigid, and our players also tend to use many small illegal moves...

Screen quality is a fundamental skill issue; young players never develop good habits early on, making it very hard to change in adulthood.

The global trend in basketball is clear: high-quality screens are the lifeline of space-oriented playstyles.

If Curry and Klay had our inside players, they wouldn’t display such outstanding off-ball abilities...

Green once said, “I am the best screen setter in NBA history.”

Though over the years there’s been much debate about his moving screens.

But judging by results and effectiveness alone, he definitely creates excellent space for shooters...