It was indeed a stage for Seoul SK. SK, which made a new history in professional basketball, cleared out the trophies at the awards ceremony.
The Korea Basketball League (KBL) held the 2024-2025 KCC professional basketball awards ceremony on the afternoon of Nov. 9 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel in Gangnam, Seoul.
It was a celebration for the championship team SK. SK secured an early victory in mid-October, marking the club's fourth regular season title. Additionally, SK became the champion in just 46 games, setting a new record for the 'fewest games to win the regular season title in KBL history' by surpassing DB's record of 47 games from the 2011-2012 season. Furthermore, SK finished the season with 41 wins and 13 losses, achieving 40 wins for the third time in the club's history.
SK's dominance continued at the awards ceremony. The winners of the six individual awards in various institutional sectors were announced first. Lee Jung-hyun (Goyang Sono) won the Steals Award for the second consecutive year with an average of 1.9 steals per game, and Cady LaChance received the Blocks Award (average of 1.2).
Heo Hoon and Asem Marey each claimed the Assist Award (average of 6.2) and the Rebound Award (average of 13.1) respectively. The Three-Point Award went to Andrew Nicholson, who successfully made a total of 123 three-point shots. From SK, Jamill Warney (average of 22.6 points) received the Scoring Award.
The Sixth Man Award was given to KT's Park Jun-young. The Most Improved Player (MIP) and Rookie of the Year awards went to Yang Jun-seok and Joel Kagulangan, respectively. Kagulangan became the first Rookie of the Year in KT's history.
It began to officially call SK's name from the Best 5. This Best 5 was uniquely divided between two teams for the first time in history. Only the names of the championship team SK and the runner-up team LG were listed.
Warney secured a unanimous position with 111 votes, and An Young-jun and Kim Sun-hyung, who are indispensable to SK's victory, also made it to the Best 5 with 106 votes and 69 votes, respectively. The remaining two spots went to LG's Kal Tamayo (52 votes) and Marey (42 votes).
In addition, Warney became the second-ever unanimous foreign MVP after McDowell in the 1997-1998 season, achieving three championships. At the same time, he secured his fourth regular season MVP award, surpassing Johnny McDowell and Ra Gun-ah (three-time winners), making him the record holder for the most foreign MVP awards (four times). Warney played all 54 games this season, averaging 22.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists, contributing significantly to SK's victory.
The Coach of the Year award also went to head coach Jeon Hee-cheol. Coach Jeon Hee-cheol, who made a new history in the KBL, received overwhelming support with 106 out of 111 votes in the coach of the year voting. This is his second coaching award since his debut season in 2021-2022.
The long-awaited domestic player MVP also came from SK. An Young-jun received 89 out of 111 votes, distancing himself from Kim Sun-hyung (19 votes) to win the MVP award for the first time in his life, a prestigious honor after eight years since his debut.
An Young-jun blossomed with his potential this season. He played as a sixth man for SK right after debuting in the 2017-2018 season, but gradually honed his skills and established himself as a versatile player. This season, he recorded an average of 14.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 51 games, achieving his first career triple-double. He also made an average of 1.9 three-pointers per game.
Now, after a brief celebration, SK's gaze is towards the integrated championship that will come after three years since the 2021-2022 season. When asked about the playoff championship probability, Coach Jeon Hee-cheol said, "I think it’s over 50%. A coach should have that level of confidence. The players will see it. For now, the biggest pressure is there. However, I believe we can overcome it with the confidence and pride the players gained from winning the regular season."
An Young-jun also emphasized, "Now, the only thing left is the playoff MVP. But rather than being greedy for that, my goal is to wear one more championship ring." Warney also confidently proclaimed, "There can be various outlooks and opinions. But we have not lost more than three times during a long season of six rounds. We have shown our strength. I am very confident."
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