Changwon LG Yoo Sang. Provided by KBL
A generational change is blowing in professional basketball. Even in the All-Star Game, rookies with less experience are emerging as new stars.
In this year’s KBL All-Star Game fan vote, a new name emerged at the top. This is Yu Ki-sang (Changwon LG, 23), a second-year rookie who is emerging as a representative shooter in the league. Yu Yu-sang is quickly capturing the hearts of basketball fans with his consistent performance and meticulous fan service.
As of the 12th, Yoo Yu-sang is in first place in the fan vote that runs until the 16th. He beat all the prominent veteran star players. Heo Woong, who took first place in fan voting for three consecutive years and a total of five times until last year, is maintaining second place with a gap of 3,000 votes from Yoo Yu-sang.
In the past few years, the professional basketball All-Star Game has been a stage for veterans. Players who have maintained popularity for a long time made the top 10 list of fan votes. Since Lee Jung-hyun, who is in his 4th year of debut, made his All-Star debut by ranking 23rd in fan voting in his first year of debut, new players have rarely been able to break through the All-Star barrier.
Yugi-sang ranked 12th in the fan vote for the 2023 All-Star Game, the first year of his debut. Among the 24 players selected as All-Stars at the time, Yugi-sang was the only first-year rookie. As a regular starting player for the team, his popularity has risen sharply this year.
Yoo Yoo-sang’s team, LG, is in 8th place in the league with 5 wins and 10 losses this season. Even though the team is going through a difficult time due to a series of injuries and departures of key players, Yoo Yu-sang is consistently scoring double-digit scores and lifting the mood.
Basketball commentator Lee Kyu-seop said, “Yoo Ki-sang is a player with no difference between his team and the national team. He plays clean basketball with a focus on 3-point shooting, which is a recent trend, and has excellent manners during games, so he has a lot of elements that fans will like.” “I think I have it,” he said, pointing out the factors behind its popularity.
Park Moo-bin of Ulsan Hyundai Mobis. Provided by KBL
Young players, led by Yoo Sang-sang, are emerging as stars of professional basketball. Low-age players who debuted after 2020, such as Sono Lee Jeong-hyun and Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Park Moo-bin, are ranked in the top 10 in All-Star fan voting.
They made their name known by playing for the national team in an international match against Japan in July of this year. At that time, the Basketball Association formed a national team with young players with an average age of 24.5 years to improve competitiveness in international competitions. Byun Jun-hyung, born in 1996, was the most senior member of the national team. In a game that attracted a lot of public attention due to the Korea-Japan match, Lee Jeong-hyeon and Yoo Yu-sang proved their competitiveness by scoring double-digit scores.
This commentator cited the success of college basketball as another factor in the generational change in basketball. He said, “One of the reasons why young star players are emerging is that players who were popular in the college league, such as Yoo Ki-sang, Moon Jeong-hyun, Park Moo-bin, and Ha Yoon-ki, are playing as starters immediately after entering the professional ranks.”
