[2024 동아스포츠대상] Men’s basketball Lee Jeong-hyeon, Choi Jun-yong and Heo Hoon, women’s basketball Kim Dan-bi and Park Ji-soo… Who will be the player of the year?

Who will be the men’s and women’s professional basketball player of the year at the ‘2024 Dong-A Sports Awards’, selected directly by the players?

The ‘2024 Dong-A Sports Awards with Mediheal’, hosted by Mediheal, Dong-A Ilbo, Sports Donga, and Channel A, will be held at the Centennial Memorial Samsung Hall of Korea University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul at 2 p.m. on December 2. The Dong-A Sports Awards, which celebrated its 16th anniversary this year, is the only event in which representative players from the five major professional sports in Korea, including baseball, soccer, basketball (men and women), volleyball (men and women), and golf (men and women), select the ‘Athlete of the Year’ through direct voting. It’s an awards ceremony. It is noteworthy that the winners are selected through direct voting by the players selected by the voting panel by applying strict criteria, which means that one must have not only skills but also character to enjoy the glory of the award. The reason why athletes place great significance on winning the Dong-A Sports Awards is because it is proof that they have been recognized by their peers.

Winners in the men’s and women’s professional basketball categories are selected based on regular league performance in the 2023-2024 season. In men’s professional basketball, the competition is between Lee Jeong-hyeon (Goyang Sono), who emerged as one of the best guards in Korea with consistent performance throughout the 2023-2024 season, Choi Jun-yong (Busan KCC), who led the team to the championship game, and versatile guard Heo Hoon (Suwon KT). It is expected. Jeong-Hyeon Lee will receive the award for the first time, while Jun-Yong Choi, the 2022 winner, and Hoon Heo, the 2020 winner, will attempt to win the award for the second time.

Lee Jung-hyun was the core of Sono with 22.8 points per game (1st in the country), 6.6 assists, and 2 steals (1st overall). In the third year since joining the team, he has emerged as the present and future of Korean basketball. Choi Jun-yong contributed to the team’s championship win by scoring 14 points (4th in the country), 6.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks (2nd in the country) per game. Heo Hoon led the team to the championship game by recording 15.1 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 assists along with 2.6 3-point shots per game (3rd place).

Danbi Kim of Woori Bank. Sports Donga DB

In women’s professional basketball, a fierce battle is expected between Kim Dan-bi, who led Asan Woori Bank to victory in the championship game for two consecutive seasons, and ‘National Treasure Center’ Park Ji-soo (Turkiye Galatasaray), who contributed to Cheongju KB Stars’ regular league win.

Danbi Kim, who enjoyed the joy of winning his first award in 2023, averaged 18.4 points (2nd), 9 rebounds (5th), 5 assists (4th), and 1.7 steals (3rd) in 29 regular league games in the 2023-2024 season. performed well. Park Ji-soo, who was the regular league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2023-2024 season, ranked first in scoring (20.3 points), rebounds (15.2), and blocking (1.8). Danbi Kim will attempt to win the award for the second year in a row, and Jisoo Park will attempt to win the award for the third time following 2021 and 2022.

Reporter Kang San [email protected] See more of this reporter’s articles