'Lee Hyun-jung, Lee Hyun-jung, and again Lee Hyun-jung': The 3-on-3 men's basketball players who made history receive unanimous votes for their role model [Nagoya on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

The athletes who jointly secured South Korea's first-ever 3-on-3 (3X3) men's basketball gold medal at the 2026 Aichi·Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games are all college students in their early twenties.

Lee Ju-young (22), Kim Seung-woo (21, both from Yonsei University), Lee Dong-geun (23, Korea University), and Gu Min-gyo (21, Sungkyunkwan University) formed a cohesive Korean team that defeated Qatar 19-10 in the tournament final held on the 25th at a special court at Nagoya Ginkgo Station Plaza in Japan, securing the top spot on the podium.

These athletes are not specialists in the 3rd-on-3 format. Each plays as a 5-on-5 player for their respective teams and only came together for this Asian Games to compete in the 3rd-on-3 event. They had to adapt not only to different court dimensions and general rules but also to a different type of basketball. Additionally, they faced challenges due to playing for different teams, making training difficult, yet they overcame these obstacles to achieve this result.

As young athletes, each has a distinct personality, and their responses regarding the gold medal vary widely. However, there is one point of unanimous agreement: their role model is Lee Hyun-jung (26), who received an overwhelming number of votes. In fact, Lee Hyun-jung was also born in 2000, so his age difference with the 3X3 national team players is not significant. Nevertheless, all four athletes named him as their role model, praising not only his skills but also his attitude toward basketball.

During a gold medalist press conference held on the 26th at Korea House in Nagoya, Japan, Lee Ju-young responded to a question about his role model by saying, "Huh Hoon was my role model from before. At the same time, I also respect Lee Hyun-jung." He added, "Watching him play in the 5th-on-5 format this time, I found it incredibly impressive how his desire to win and determination naturally emanated from his very being, not just his skills."

Following this, the name "Lee Hyun-jung" was repeatedly mentioned by other players as well. Kim Seung-woo stated, "Lee Hyun-jung is my role model. Watching him compete in national team matches, I felt his attitude toward basketball was truly exceptional and something I should learn from. I believe we should emulate his energy level displayed on the court and his defensive mindset."

Lee Dong-geun also said, "There's no need to mention his skills; his mindset, mental strength, and overall attitude toward basketball are what make him my role model. Even though he is the team's ace, I want to emulate how he takes on unglamorous tasks and injects fighting spirit into the team."

Gu Min-gyo was no different. He cited both Lee Hyun-jung and Kobe Bryant, adding, "I believe strong mentality and attitude are most important. I want to model myself after top players in those aspects."

Head coach Bae Gil-tae, who directly selected these athletes for the national team and led them to the gold medal, remarked, "Although we could have chosen professional players, I believed this was the best combination to win gold at the Asian Games and selected them accordingly. As a coach, I respect my players. Our concept was to 'reach the highest possible level with incredible effort.' We prepared rigorously, and the players followed through on that process admirably."

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*This content was translated by AI.