Yang Hansen has been getting comparisons to Nuggets star Nikola Jokic for years, having been called “Baby Jokic” since getting drafted 16th overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2025 Draft.

The epithet comes from his passing ability, as well as his burgeoning jumpshot. He knows being likened to the three-time MVP adds pressure, but rather than being burdened by it, he uses it as extra motivation, writes the Eurohoops team.

“First of all, Jokic is my idol,” Yang said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and I really love the way he plays. I think that’s also something the fans hope to see from me. So, I’ll just keep working hard.”

Recently, he had 15 points and nine rebounds in a win over Qatar during China’s World Cup Qualifiers victory.

We have more from around the Northwest Division:

• Cody Williams being traded to the Timberwolves means that he’ll be matched up against his brother, Jalen Williams, on Christmas Day, an event the older Williams is looking forward to. “See you on Christmas, brudda,” he wrote in an Instagram post, as shared by The Thunder Wire’s Clemente Almanza (Twitter link). The younger Williams has struggled to start his career, but now has a chance to reshape his career trajectory on a new team with championship ambitions.
• The Jazz are looking to take a major step forward as a winning team this season, and head coach Will Hardy knows that continuing to build his coach-player relationship with star Lauri Markkanen will be a crucial aspect to unlocking that next level. “Lauri’s obviously somebody who I’ve built a pretty deep relationship with over the last four years. I actually think he’s the only player still on the roster from that first year… I think seeing somebody in their natural habitat can be very enlightening,” Hardy said of his trip to Finland to support Markannen, per Jenna Fink of KUTV2 (Twitter video link). “But it was important for us to just spend time, the human piedce is very key to our success moving forward. It’s hard to win at the hardest level. What we’re about to enter into is going to be very hard. We need to have a strong foundation of personal relationships… Lauri makes a lot more sense to me now.”
• Markannen recently posted a huge double-double in a win over Estonia, with 21 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, and zero turnovers in just 25 minutes, the Eurohoops team notes. He helped push Finland to a 29-point victory.