Han Xu continues to leave eye-catching performances in the WNBA, and the US data website FiveThirtyEight recently wrote an article describing how special she is.
You can hardly find a template for Han Xu in the history of the WNBA, and many of the interviewees have made a mistake, and the 22-year-old 2.08-meter-tall young center is unique.
Big guy who can shoot three points? The label fits Han Xu, but the problem is that she's not the average "big" — Han Wook is a few inches taller than almost everyone who defends her, which means that even if the centers can reach the three-point line to block Han Xu, they still can't interfere with his shots. And compared to when he first played in the WNBA (in 2019, the 19-year-old Han Xu played a total of 143 minutes), Han Xu is now a more mature and more functional player.
When Han Xu came to the training camp this spring to report, New York Liberty coach Sandy Brandlow didn't know what kind of big man he was getting. But soon, the freelancers realized that they had an influential player on both ends of the board, and that Han Wook's presence was changing the definition of a center in the WNBA. Her data and potential have made Han Xu a popular presence among the younger generation.
Han Xu on the field is already one of the WNBA's most efficient offensive weapons. She scored 1.12 points per possession, ranking fifth among all players who played at least five games, just ahead of star players Sylvia Falls and Ohumick.
"Shooting has been a great thing since I was a kid." In an interview before a game earlier this month, Han Xu said, "I want to prove my shots on this stage as well. And when I shoot, I don't think too much about it because no one can defend me. ”
Han Xu was right. She shot 55.9 percent from the field in 441 minutes this season, putting her seventh in WNBA history for all under-23 players. From this list, we can see that most of the players live near the basket and there is basically no outside threat. If we add a 20% limit to the round share, Han Xu will come to the third place in history.
The only two players to rank ahead of Han Xu are Owomik and Campbic — both of whom have been selected as All-Stars 11 times since 2013, winning one MVP, and Campbic has also scored a WNBA record of 53 points in a single game. But these two predecessors did not have the range of the latter when they were as old as Han Xu, and as of 2 days ago, Han Xu shot 14 of 29 from outside the three-point line this season, shooting 48.3%. Previously, free agent coach Brondlow had joked that Han Xu should participate in the three-point contest, which Jacqueline Jones did last year, and Han Xu's participation was not a surprising result.
It is worth mentioning that there are many well-known high-quality interior lines in the above table, such as Briina Stewart and Candice Parker (Lauren Jackson is in the top ten). Han Xu was among the top big men, and she was taller than all the people in the table above.
Brondlow has compared her Australian teammate Jackson to Han Xu, but she admits that the comparison is not so perfect.
"Lauren Jackson, I guess you can see her shadow in such a young Han Xu." Brondlow said, "I mean, I've been with Lauren for a long time, and it's really amazing that Han Xu was able to do this at such a young age." But it's more about Han Xu feeling confident and comfortable in his environment. I think we're a fantastic team and we embrace her who came here to fight and is eager to be better. ”
Although scoring is Han Xu's most impressive game content, it is not the only equipment in her arsenal. As teams began to notice Han Wook's abilities, she faced increasing defensive pressure, but she still controlled her turnover rate to just 8.4 percent, fifth in the league. Meanwhile, she's one of 15 players with a 3+percent blocking percentage and a 1+percent steal rate (playing at least 10 games and averaging at least 15 minutes per game), on par with some of the WNBA's most dominant interior defenders.
'I know on the offensive end we can put her in the right place and her long shots and close to the basket finish feel good. Brondlow said earlier this month, "But in the very beginning, the point is to keep her up on top of the defensive end, not an offense issue." I think for a player who doesn't speak English, it takes some time. So we just have patience with her... It was great to see her progress. ”
In the Battle of Las Vegas Aces on July 6, the world saw how terrifying the mature Han Xu was. She scored 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 11-of-12 shooting.
"She's different." Ace team core Aja Wilson sighed, she mentioned that the free man will set up some tactics to feed Han Xu the ball, those balls only Han Xu received. Wilson often used this tactic as well, but Han Xu was a full 6 inches (15 centimeters) taller than her, which made Wilson find himself the one who was powerless in tactics. "You can see she's getting into form and the Free Men's approach makes her comfortable and brings out the content of her game, which is great."
Wilson also couldn't think of any template for Han Xu, she said: "I really can't think of anyone who has similarities with her, this is her characteristic." ”
An analogy with Han Xu is Emma Messerman, who shot 56.6 percent of the year at the age of 22 and was 6 of 13 from three-point range, with similar efficiency to Han Xu (although insufficient production). That year, Messerman was named an All-Star, one of her two All-Star tours, plus she won the Finals MVP in 2019. Of course, Messerman is only 1.93 meters, and adding 15 centimeters of height to her will get a completely different player.
"I think Emma is a good analogy." Han Xu's teammate Stephanie Dorson said she had worked as a teammate in Washington and Messerman. "But I think like you said, no 2.08m player can be like Han Xu. Her performance is incredible, and the effect of combining all her skills into one whole is great. ”
Han Xu herself knew that she could learn like many great insiders, but she was walking on the path of only her own.
"There are a lot of centers in the league that I look up to." Han Xu said, "I want to play smart like Fowles, I want to be as confrontational as Jones, but I don't want to be anyone, I just want to be myself." ”