The first Rookie of the Year in the history of Suwon KT has emerged. Joel Kagulang-an (25) was selected as the best rookie player of this season.
The Korean Basketball League (KBL) held the 2024-2025 KCC Professional Basketball Awards ceremony on the afternoon of the 9th at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in Gangnam, Seoul.
The winners of the six individual awards in various institutional sectors were announced first. Lee Jeong-hyun of Goyang Sonos won the Steal Award for the second consecutive year with an average of 1.9 steals per game, while Caddy Laren received the Block Shot Award (average 1.2). Heo Hoon and Asem Marey took home the Assist Award (average 6.2) and the Rebound Award (average 13.1), respectively, while Andrew Nicholson and Jamil Warney received the Three-Point Award (total of 123) and the Scoring Award (average 22.6 points).
The Sixth Man Award went to KT Park Jun-young. He played an average of 20 minutes and 9 seconds in 45 games this season, achieving averages of 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. As a result, he garnered a total of 71 votes, surpassing Lee Kwan-hee, who received 10 votes, to be named the best sixth man.
The Most Improved Player Award belonged to Yang Jun-seok. This season, Yang Jun-seok stepped up as a starter, recording averages of 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 54 games. His playing time also increased to an average of 28 minutes and 53 seconds, more than double compared to last season (14 minutes and 15 seconds). Now emerged as a national team guard, he won the Most Improved Player Award with 77 votes, beating Semjozev Belangel, who had 15 votes.
The best rookie player of the KBL this season was Kagulang-an. He contributed to KT's battle for the top ranks with an average of 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. As a result, he received 57 votes, surpassing Park Sung-jae, who received 32 votes. This means KT has produced its first Rookie of the Year.
Kagulang-an, who received the Rookie Award that can only be won once in a lifetime, stated, "First, I want to thank my teammates and coaches. I'm grateful for the opportunity to play in the KBL." Kagulang-an also received a prize of 5 million won.
[OSEN]