Lee Jung-hyun, captain of Seoul Samsung in professional basketball, set a milestone of 600 consecutive games for the first time in history.
Lee Jung-hyun made history by starting at a home game against Changwon LG in the 2023-2024 season at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul on Tuesday. He is also far behind second-ranked Lee Jae-do 407 games.
Before the game, Samsung players warmed up wearing shirts with the number 600 and Bronco, Lee's nickname. Lee expressed his gratitude through photo shoots with fans visiting the stadium. Fans applauded for 60 seconds only for Lee before the game.
Lee Jung-hyun, who made his professional debut in 2010, passed Anyang KGC currently Anyang Jeonggwanjang, 2010-2017 and Jeonju KCC currently Busan KCC, 2017-2022, and has worn Samsung's uniform since last year. He lifted the champion's trophy twice 2012 and 2017 in Anyang, and won the regular league MVP in 2019 with his performance as the top scorer for Korean players.
He has clearly established himself as an epitome of steadiness and strength as he has set a milestone for participating in 600 consecutive games on the day. Although his scoring ability is said to have deteriorated compared to his heyday, he is still the highest among Korean players at Samsung with an average of 10.1 points per game. He is at the center of the team's offense with 3.9 assists, the highest in his team.
"Lee Jung-hyun has his own good routine," said Samsung coach Eun Hee-seok, who said he was roommates with Lee Jung-hyun when he was a player at Anyang KGC. He never flirts with stretching or reinforcement exercises. He also seems to have been born with a strong bone. He has achieved an amazing achievement." Eun said, "I was not injured, but I overcame it well and even if I got seriously injured, I got hurt during the offseason," explaining that he had luck with it. 스포츠토토
Lee's milestone also faded due to his team's defeat. Lee struggled with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists on the day, but failed to prevent his team from losing five consecutive games. "Today should have been a fun day, but I think we failed to keep pace with Lee's milestone," Eun said.