"Unusual" 5th place in the regular league swept the awards ceremony... "Korean player MVP, rookie player award." All of them are Sono's arms [At the KBL Awards]

*This content was translated by AI.

The team that shone the most splendidly at this season's men's professional basketball regular league awards ceremony was fifth-place Goyang Sono. Ace Lee Jung-hyun won his first MVP in his life and Kevin Kembao swept the rookie award, and Sono stood tall as the main character of the ceremony.

On the afternoon of the 9th, the 2025-2026 LG Electronics Professional Basketball Awards were held at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas Grand Ballroom in Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Lee Jung-hyun was the MVP of the Korean players, the flower of the ceremony. Lee Jung-hyun rose to the top position, beating Yoo Ki-sang (seven votes, Changwon LG), with overwhelming support of 106 out of 117 valid votes. Lee Jung-hyun, who won a record 90.5 percent of the vote, made a new history of being the MVP from the fifth-place team in the regular league for the first time ever.

Along with the prize money of 10 million won, Lee Jung-hyun said, "I'm honored to receive a big prize. I give honor to coach Son Chang-hwan, the coaching staff, and my beloved fans and family for always trusting me," he said.

In addition, Lee Jung-hyun also ranked in the best 5 along with Asem Maray (LG), Jamil Warney (Seoul SK), Lee Sun- Albano (Wonju DB), and Ahn Young-joon (SK), achieving two gold medals.

Sono's double celebration continued in the Rookie of the Year award. Kevin Kembao, who is in the second year of the Asian quarter, won 105 votes, beating Kang Sung-wook (6 votes, Suwon KT) by a large margin and receiving the honor of the Rookie of the Year. Kembao averaged 15.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists this season, playing a decisive role in Sono's advance to the semifinals. Kembao said, "I am grateful to my Filipino Asian quarter colleagues, Filipino fans, and Sono fans here."

The manager's award went to Cho Sang-hyun, who led LG to its first-ever regular league championship. Cho Sang-hyun won his first career director award with 98 votes. Coach Cho said, "I am grateful to the players who followed me to the end even though he is an angry coach. Without the fans of the sunflower, we could not have come this far," he said, expressing his gratitude.

The foreign player MVP was won by LG's Asem Maray with 97 votes, beating Jamil Warney (20 votes, SK). Maray proved to be the best foreign player in the league by winning the best defense award.

In addition, Eddie Daniel (SK) won the Sixman Award, and Seo Myung-jin (Ulsan Hyundai Mobis) won the skill development award and the Lee Sung-gu Fair Play Award. The Pocari Sweat Popularity Award selected by fans showed off its unwavering popularity as Heo Woong (Busan KCC), who received 32,555 votes, won the award for the fifth consecutive year. The "Play of the Season" selected by the selection committee was selected by the reverse buzzer beater 1.1 seconds before Lee Sun-Albano (Wonju DB), who hit the match against SK in Seoul on December 11, 2025.

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*This content was translated by AI.