Chinese ex-NBA star warns incoming rookie Yang Hansen to expect anti-Asian bias

On June 25, Yang Hansen, a 7-foot-1 center from Qingdao, China, was selected 16th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming just the third Chinese player ever taken in the first round after Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. As he prepares for his NBA debut, former Houston Rockets player Zhou Qi has offered a candid warning about the challenges Chinese players can face in the league.

In a recent episode of “China Role Models,” Zhou discussed the need for mental strength as Yang transitions to the NBA. Zhou said in Chinese, “If I were to give any suggestion, I think the most important thing is to maintain a balanced mentality. The U.S. and Australia are quite different. In the U.S. there are a lot of Black players. Their playing style, physicality and ways of expressing themselves are very different from ours. Once you get to the NBA, to be honest, they don’t really think highly of us. But once you are in that environment, though they might not say it explicitly, they will ‘express’ it in other ways.”

When host Yang Yi suggested that players in Yang’s position are likely to be bullied in the NBA environment, Zhou agreed and elaborated, “Exactly. That’s why mindset is especially important at that point. How you perceive your own role or position will shape your mentality over there.”

Yang is expected to make his NBA debut during the upcoming Summer League in Las Vegas, which runs from July 10 to 20. Portland’s first Summer League game is scheduled for July 11 at 8 p.m. PDT versus the Golden State Warriors.