"He flew from Japan to see Lee Hyun-jung": Nagasaki General Manager personally delivers championship ring... 'Dignity' Lee Hyun-jung also says "Thank you" to club staff [Incheon]

*This content was translated by AI.

Even after leaving the team, their bond did not end. The general manager of Nagasaki Velca in Japan's B.League flew from Japan all the way to Incheon International Airport to meet Lee Hyun-jung.

Lee Hyun-jung departed for the United States through Incheon International Airport on the 26th. He joined the Portland training camp of the NBA to embark on a new challenge toward official roster entry.

A special guest was present at the departure scene.

Takuma Ito, the Nagasaki general manager who had been with Lee Hyun-jung until last season, visited the airport.

There was a reason. He came to personally deliver a championship ring produced to commemorate Nagasaki's B.League title win last season.

A representative of Lee Hyun-jung's agency told StarNews, "The Nagasaki general manager just arrived from Japan. After staying in Korea for one day today, he will return to Japan." He added, "He wanted to personally deliver the championship ring to Lee Hyun-jung without fail."

It was a rare sight for a club general manager to cross borders to visit a player who had already left the team.

The agency representative also expressed gratitude, calling it "a highly unusual occurrence."

Upon meeting, Lee Hyun-jung and General Manager Ito immediately shared an enthusiastic embrace. Lee Hyun-jung repeatedly conveyed his thanks after receiving the championship ring. He promptly put the ring on his finger and gazed at it for a long time as if fascinated.

Lee Hyun-jung contributed to Nagasaki's first-ever title win last season. Although Nagasaki wanted to continue their partnership with Lee Hyun-jung after the season ended, he chose to head to the United States to pursue his long-held goal of challenging the NBA.

While their paths diverged, mutual respect remained unchanged.

General Manager Ito traveled all the way to Korea for a player who had left, and Lee Hyun-jung in turn carefully attended to Nagasaki staff members.

Notably, he was seen proactively greeting a Nagasaki club employee who was filming his scene on-site, saying, "Thank you for everything until now."

He expressed gratitude not only to the general manager who came to deliver the championship ring but also to the staff member who had supported him from behind for a long time.

Though it was a brief moment, it offered a glimpse into how deep the bond Lee Hyun-jung built with Nagasaki last season truly was, along with his thoughtful consideration.

For Lee Hyun-jung, the championship ring symbolizes the title won last season and has become a special gift received as he faces a new challenge.

Now wearing an Asian Games gold medal around his neck, Lee Hyun-jung heads to the United States with the championship ring in his heart.

Lee Hyun-jung said, "My goal is to stay in the United States for a long time. I have many other goals as well." He added, "First, I want to show my true self as much as possible during the training camp. Rather than thinking too far ahead, I want to do my best every day and in every moment."

He also stated, "I wanted to play basketball in the United States, so I have nurtured my dream of challenging overseas." He explained, "While I am truly grateful for the interest shown in Japan, my ultimate goal is to become an NBA player."

He further added, "Because I focused only on my own thoughts without worrying about external factors, the decision was actually made easily."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.