Lee Jung-hyun (basketball)

Lee Jung-hyun (born March 3, 1987) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He plays for Jeonju KCC Egis in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team.[1]

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
Lee Jung-hyun
No. 3 – Jeonju KCC Egis
PositionGuard
LeagueKBL
Personal information
Born (1987-03-03) March 3, 1987
Gwangju, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High schoolGwangju High School
CollegeYonsei University
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2017Anyang KGC
2013-2015→ Sangmu (loan)
2017–presentJeonju KCC Egis
Career highlights and awards
  • KBL Championship (2012, 2017)
  • KBL regular season champions (2017, 2021)
  • KBL Most Valuable Player Award (2019)
  • KBL Best 5 (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
  • KBL Sixth Man Award (2012)
Medals
FIBA Asia Cup
2017 Lebanon
Asian Games
2018 Jakarta–PalembangTeam
Korean name
Hangul
이정현
Hanja
李政玹
Revised RomanizationI Jeong-hyeon
McCune–ReischauerYi Chŏnghyŏn

Early life

Lee played baseball and football throughout elementary school. A promising football prospect, he had considered becoming a professional football player.[2] He started playing basketball in sixth grade when his elementary school decided to start a basketball team and a classmate recruited him to join the team since he already had an athletic background. As a student at Gwangju High School he gained the attention of college recruiters for his shooting skills.[2]

Career

College

Lee played college basketball for Yonsei University. He was largely unnoticed during his freshman year due to the presence of Kim Tae-sul, Yang Hee-jong and Ha Seung-jin in the team. During his senior year he was Yonsei's leader in points, assists and rebounds.[3]

Anyang KT&G / Anyang KGC (2010–2017)

In the 2010 KBL rookie draft, Lee was drafted by Busan KT Sonicboom second overall and then traded to Anyang KT&G in a player exchange.[4] Although he scored 19 points and impressed in his debut, he spent his first two seasons as the sixth man and went on to the win the Sixth Man Award at the 2011-12 KBL awards.[2][5] He enlisted for mandatory military service in April 2013 and joined the Sangmu team after completing basic training. He was discharged in January 2015, returning to the team roster immediately.[6][7]

During the 2015-16 season Lee was a mainstay of the Anyang team which reached the semi-finals of the play-offs, especially in clutch situations.[8] He was the only Anyang player voted into the KBL Best 5 that season.[9]

Lee was part of the Anyang team which won a rare "double" during the 2016-17 season, winning both the regular season as well as the KBL Championship. He had been nominated for the KBL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award but lost to teammate Oh Se-keun.[10]

Jeonju KCC Egis (2017–present)

After his contract with Anyang KGC ended, Lee became a free agent and joined Jeonju KCC Egis for the 2017-18 season. In December 2017, he reached a milestone of appearing in his 300th consecutive KBL-sanctioned "A" match (professional match).[11] He was voted KBL Most Valuable Player of the 2018-19 season as he led the league in points scored, averaging 17.2 points, among domestic players.[12][13] His win made him the first Jeonju KCC Egis player in 20 years to win MVP and only the second MVP winner not from a winning or runner-up team since the KBL was established.[10] In December 2019, he was nominated for and won the Male Basketball Player of the Year, voted for by league coaches and his KBL peers, at the annual Dong-a Sports Awards honoring domestic professional athletes across all disciplines.[14]

Lee was a key player in KCC winning the 2020-21 regular season and reaching the finals of the play-offs, losing the KBL Championship title to his former team Anyang KGC.[15] However, he also became a controversial figure when the KBL released a list of players who were caught "flopping" (faking fouls) that season and his name was at the top of the list.[16]

Lee's appearance record has extended into the 2021-22 season.[14] As of October 2021, he has appeared in 428 consecutive matches.[17] He is sometimes referred to as "big Lee Jung-hyun" by other players due to another player having the exact same name being drafted that season; "small Lee Jung-hyun" was born in 1999 and is also an alumnus of Yonsei University.[18]

National team

Lee participated in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.[19] He was in the final squad and named captain for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.[20][2]

Personal life

Lee is a fan of his hometown baseball team Kia Tigers and has been spotted attending their games during his off-season.[14][2]

References
  1. FIBA profile
  2. "[농구인생 PEOPLE] 노력의 결실, 국가대표 주장 이정현!". Basketball Life (농구인생) (in Korean). 2 September 2019.
  3. "[2009농구대잔치]<개막D-2>이정현 '진가를 보여라'(동영상)" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 15 December 2009.
  4. "KT&G , 드래프트 1-2순위로 박찬희-이정현 지명(종합)". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 3 February 2010.
  5. "식스맨상 이정현 "이상범 감독님께 감사드린다"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 9 April 2012.
  6. "이정현·정창영 등 29일 상무 입대". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 9 April 2013.
  7. "<프로농구전망대> 이정현·정창영 등 상무 전역 선수들 복귀". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 26 January 2015.
  8. "에이스 믿은 사령탑, 기대에 부응한 에이스" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 3 March 2016.
  9. "48 vs 49 태풍 이겨낸 양동근". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 22 February 2016.
  10. "프로농구 시즌 MVP 이정현 "2년 전 상 놓친 게 전화위복"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 20 March 2019.
  11. "[기록] '금강불괴' 이정현, 300경기 연속 출전기록 달성". Jumpball (in Korean). 26 December 2017.
  12. "4위팀 KCC 이정현, 프로농구 MVP 영예". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 20 March 2019.
  13. "Lee Jung-Hyun, Rah Gun-A claim MVP awards in KBL while Muharraq rise as Bahrain champions". FIBA. 26 March 2019.
  14. "'KBL의 철인' KCC 이정현의 첫 동아스포츠대상 방문기". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 11 December 2019.
  15. "이정현 22득점…KCC, 현대모비스 꺾고 선두 질주". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 3 March 2021.
  16. "프로농구 KCC 이정현, 페이크 파울 10회 개인 최다". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 9 April 2021.
  17. "KCC 이정현 "'35살 양동근' 보며 자극 받아…팀 기여도 높이는 농구할 것"". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 26 October 2021.
  18. "선배 이정현 패스, 후배 이정현 슛∼". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 30 January 2019.
  19. 2017 FIBA Asia Cup profile
  20. "Junghyun Lee 2019 FIBA World Cup profile". FIBA.
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