Official confirmation! Yang Hansen makes a major return! We've been waiting for a full year.

It's confirmed that Yang Hansen will come back to play for China in the July World Cup qualifiers (vs. Japan and Chinese Taipei).

In the first two windows, the Chinese men's team had a 2-2 record, losing to South Korea 76-80 and 76-90, and beating Japan 87-80 and Chinese Taipei 100-93.

Yang Hansen last wore the national team jersey in the Asian Qualifiers last February, after which he went to the NBA. As the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 draft, he played 43 regular-season games for the Trail Blazers in his rookie year, starting once, averaging 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7 minutes per game, with a negligible playoff contribution.

Although Yang had few opportunities in official NBA games, his performances in the G League were impressive. He averaged 17.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game, shooting 62.4% from the field, and led the Portland Trail Blazers' affiliate, the Rip City Remix, to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

In short, look forward to the day Yang Hansen returns to the Chinese men's team, which will be a perfect test of his progress from the NBA.