1st place for Rookie of the Year → eliminated from the national team, motivation rather than disappointment... "Expensive Rookie" Kang Sung Wook. "How did you find your lack?" [the site of a water source]

*This content was translated by AI.

The strong performance of the special rookie does not stop. Suwon KT field commander Kang Sung-wook (22) proved once again that he is the hottest rookie in professional basketball this season with his overwhelming performance that broke the team's three consecutive losses.

Kang Sung-wook scored 23 points and 10 assists double-doubles against Seoul Samsung in the fifth round of LG Electronics' professional basketball at KT Sonicboom Arena in Suwon on the 9th, driving his team's 104-101 overtime victory.

KT, which has lost consecutive games, rose to fifth place alone with 20 wins and 20 losses.

KT once struggled, falling behind by 17 points, but Kang Sung-wook led the counterattack by pouring out points and assists at every crisis. In particular, it shone everywhere, including the chase situation in the fourth quarter and the three-point game that brought momentum early in overtime. At the end of the game, Lee Doo-won and a bold two-man game shook Samsung's inside and outside.

Kang Sung-wook said in an interview after the game, "As I always say, today was a really important game for the semi-final playoff. The driving force of the victory was that all the players gathered together and talked a lot," he said.

As for the team's atmosphere, which would have subsided during the three consecutive losing seasons, Kim Sun-hyung gathered and led the team not to be depressed. As the youngest, I tried to raise the atmosphere with Park Min-jae, and I didn't feel that the team atmosphere was lowered," he recalled.

Regarding his breathing with senior Kim Sun-hyung, who returned from injury, he expressed expectations, saying, "My brother's physical condition is not 100% yet, but if his condition rises further, he will have good synergy in the early Offens situation."

In addition, regarding coach Moon Kyung-eun's praise for doing his part alone during the three consecutive losses, he said, "The coach is usually cheerful and playful. During practice, he teased me to make middle shots just because I was shooting 3 points, and in the last game, he called me "cook everything" and told me separately. Thank you always," he said with a smile.

The assist ability, which had been in the spotlight since college, became more powerful when he came to the professional league. Kang Sung-wook, who drove the most 10 assists since his professional debut, said, "Coming to the professional league, the older brothers' movements are good, so it's easy to save them. As I communicated a lot, I naturally had more assists. We are also talking a lot during operation time," he added.

Kang Sung-wook made his professional debut at the Jeonggwanjangjeon in November, just three months ago. It was only five days after he wore a KT uniform as the seventh-ranked player in the first round of the 2025 KBL Rookie Draft.

Regarding the fact that he is mentioned as the most likely candidate for the Rookie of the Year award this season, Kang Sung-wook said, "I think the probability will increase only when he goes to at least the 6th round. "We will be closer to the Rookie of the Year award only when we are not proud, maintain a good form, and make up for our shortcomings," he said with a mature answer.

Rather, he expressed his determination to fail to join the adult national team. Rookie players such as Eddie Daniel (Seoul SK), Kang Ji-hoon (Goyang Sono), and Moon Yoo-hyun (Director Jeong) were named in the national team. Kang Sung-wook said, "There were expectations, but there are many good guards. I felt the need to supplement the defense, which is a weakness, and it was an opportunity for me to know what I needed to develop further," he said.

Regarding the team's adaptation, he also said, "When I first came here, I was quiet because I was wary of it, but I fully adapted in three to four days. The director said I'm not very talkative, but I'll talk more in the future and make the director say, "Seong-wook has become talkative" someday," showing the youngest-like spirit.

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*This content was translated by AI.