Solving the 'Biggest Obstacle': Lee Hyun-jung, Who Conquered Asia, Now Targets the NBA with Nothing Holding Him Back [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] Lee Hyun-jung, the 'present and future' of Korean basketball, completely dominated the Asian stage. He not only ended Korea's 12-year Asian Games gold-medal drought but also inherited his mother's brilliant golden legacy, ushering in his own era.
Led by Lee Hyun-jung, South Korea's men's national basketball team defeated host nation Japan 67-57 in the men's basketball final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 20th, taking the top spot on the podium.
This tournament was entirely Lee Hyun-jung's stage. He displayed such dominant ability that it was easy to forget this was his first appearance at an international multisport event. In the final against Japan, he took over the court with a cartoonish stat line of 27 points and 18 rebounds, including five three-pointers. During a pivotal third quarter in a nerve-racking battle, he hit consecutive threes to turn the game around. He also took on the dirty work whenever the team faced adversity, perfectly fulfilling his role as a leader on and off the court. After delivering explosive performances in every game—from the group stage through the quarterfinals, where he scored 28 points, and the semifinals, where he posted 26 points and 14 rebounds—he secured a flawless championship.

The gold medal also gave Lee Hyun-jung a rare place in South Korean sports history. His mother, Sung Jung-a, a board member of the Korea Basketball Association, is a legend of Korean women's basketball who won a silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and gold at the 1990 Beijing Asian Games. Exactly 36 years later, her son Lee Hyun-jung won the same Asian Games gold medal, creating a historic legacy as the first mother-and-son Asian Games gold medalists in Korean basketball history.
Above all, this championship was especially meaningful because it removed the heaviest shackle standing in the way of Lee Hyun-jung's long-held dream of reaching the National Basketball Association (NBA): military service.

Lee Hyun-jung, who attended Stephen Curry's alma mater Davidson College and began pursuing opportunities in the United States at an early age, went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. Despite people around him trying to dissuade him and skeptical voices calling his ambition 'reckless,' he continued his relentless pursuit through the Australian league and Japan's B.LEAGUE, including Nagasaki Velca. Rather than remain in Japan, where he was guaranteed stable terms, he kept knocking on the door of the NBA Summer League. He recently secured an Exhibit 10 contract with the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers—a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal—keeping his hopes alive.
In this context, the Asian Games gold medal and the resulting special military service benefit are expected to give Lee Hyun-jung powerful wings. Having completely removed the fatal uncertainty surrounding military service, he can now soar without restrictions, looking only toward his dream of making it to the NBA. After recreating his mother's glory and establishing himself as Asia's best, Lee Hyun-jung's real basketball story begins now.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter