{"id":81671,"date":"2025-07-23T13:11:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=81671"},"modified":"2025-07-23T13:11:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:11:21","slug":"new-trail-blazers-rookie-gets-jokics-attention-with-chinese-jokic-nickname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/new-trail-blazers-rookie-gets-jokics-attention-with-chinese-jokic-nickname\/81671\/","title":{"rendered":"New Trail Blazers rookie gets Jokic\u2019s attention with \u201cChinese Jokic\u201d nickname"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-52\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @[37rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @[72rem]:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:32rem] @[34rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @[64rem]:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"960e1236-2945-4355-95dd-9ccf708ee7aa\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full break-words dark\">\n<p data-start=\"83\" data-end=\"282\">The Denver Nuggets didn\u2019t make any major headlines on draft night this year, but one move from a division rival still caught their attention, and especially caught the eye of superstar Nikola Jokic.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"284\" data-end=\"566\">While the Nuggets were quiet during the draft, not owning any picks, the Portland Trail Blazers made a bold decision by selecting Yang Hansen with the 16th overall pick. The choice surprised many at first, but once Summer League tipped off, it quickly started to make sense.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"568\" data-end=\"938\">Hansen impressed with his playmaking skills as a big man, drawing comparisons to none other than Jokic himself. In fact, fans and commentators began calling him the \u201cChinese Jokic,\u201d a nickname Hansen has embraced. Jokic is actually Hansen\u2019s favourite player, and the rookie recently said he hopes to one day get a photo and autograph from the three-time MVP.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"1065\">Jokic, known for his dry wit and calm demeanour, was asked about Hansen\u2019s request and gave a perfectly Jokic-style response.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1067\" data-end=\"1301\">\u201cHe\u2019s talented, he\u2019s talented, we can have a picture or whatever he wants,\u201d Jokic said, before adding with a grin, \u201cOnly if he plays badly against me. If I destroy him and I score a lot of points, then yes. If he does that, then no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1303\" data-end=\"1470\">Jokic also joked that he\u2019s glad he might be retired by the time Hansen fully reaches his potential, a sign of the respect he already has for the young player\u2019s upside.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1472\" data-end=\"1782\">Though Hansen has a long way to go before he\u2019s in Jokic\u2019s league, the Nuggets star sees something special in the 19-year-old. With the NBA continuing to grow globally, it\u2019s fitting to see a promising international player follow in Jokic\u2019s footsteps, and maybe even challenge him on the court soon.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1784\" data-end=\"1995\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">For now, Jokic may have the upper hand, but a new rivalry could be brewing in the Western Conference, and fans may soon get to enjoy some memorable matchups between the Nuggets and Blazers for years to come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Denver Nuggets didn\u2019t make any major headlines on draft night this year, but one move from a division rival\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":81672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[6792,13931],"class_list":["post-81671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-nikola-jokic"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}