[Interview] Shinhan Bank secures No. 1 pick for the third consecutive year; two to three candidates remain... Coach Choi Yoon-a: "What matters is how hard you work after joining"

*This content was translated by AI.

Women's professional basketball team Incheon Shinhan Bank has secured the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft for the third consecutive year. While options have narrowed somewhat, a final decision has not yet been made. The team is currently broadly evaluating two to three candidates.

Coach Choi Yoon-a of Shinhan Bank told StarNews after the rookie draft order draw: "We are looking at things broadly overall. Rather than having singled out one specific player, there are several players who have emerged as candidates." She added, "There are exactly two or three players in the candidate pool, and among them, we are focusing on a particular player."

Shinhan Bank has once again secured the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft.

The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) held the draft order draw for the 2026–2027 season rookie draft at its Seoul Gangseo-gu headquarters on the 23rd.

According to the draw results, Busan BNK drew first place and Shinhan Bank drew second place. However, Shinhan Bank will exercise the actual No. 1 overall pick.

This is because the ownership of the draft rights changed following a trade between the two teams in June. At that time, Shinhan Bank sent key forward Choi Lee-sam to BNK and, in return, received promising guard Sim Soo-hyun and the first-round priority draft right for this year's rookie draft.

Regardless of which team—Shinhan Bank or BNK, who finished sixth and fifth respectively last season—drew first place, Shinhan Bank would exercise the priority draft right. As a result, Shinhan Bank now holds the No. 1 overall pick, while BNK holds the No. 2 pick.

With this, Shinhan Bank has secured the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft for three consecutive years. The team also has the opportunity to acquire three top-tier promising players who will be responsible for the future of women's basketball in Korea.

Shinhan Bank selected Hong Yu-soon and Lee Ga-hyun with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 and 2025 rookie drafts, respectively. This year's draft gives them another chance to select a top-tier promising player.

This year's draft will see many highly regarded players participate, including Im Yeon-seo (Gwangju Su-pia Girls' High School), dubbed the "second Kim Dan-bi," and Japanese-Korean player Kaneda Mana. For Shinhan Bank, this places them in a favorable position to simultaneously strengthen their immediate roster and prepare for long-term generational transition.

However, Coach Choi Yoon-a, a legend of Shinhan Bank and former national team guard, emphasized that what matters more than the draft order itself is how consistently a player develops their skills after joining the professional league.

Even if a player is recognized for outstanding talent at the amateur level, they must adapt to new environments and fierce competition in the professional league. This means that effort and growth demonstrated after joining are just as important as current evaluations.

Coach Choi stated, "As with all sports, being selected first does not guarantee that every player becomes a top-tier talent. The same applies to women's basketball." She added, "While being selected first indicates strong recognition and entry into the professional league, whether they succeed or not can only be determined over time."

She continued, "What matters is how hard each player works after joining the team. If a No. 1 overall pick joins us, it would be a great honor and good news for the team. However, what comes after that will likely be even more important."

Shinhan Bank's selection criteria are also expected to go beyond just current reputation and skill level. The team appears poised to comprehensively evaluate a player's potential for further growth at the professional level, their attitude toward accepting competition, and their consistent work ethic.

Shinhan Bank has Coach Choi Yoon-a, who played as a top-tier guard during her active career, experiencing numerous successes and competitions firsthand. Coach Choi knows better than anyone that the process following the flashy title of No. 1 overall pick is far more important. For promising players entering the professional league, this may ultimately become their most valuable lesson—not immediate skill, but growth for the future.

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*This content was translated by AI.