Late-Joining Basketball Player Choi Jun-yong: 'I Hope My Teammates Don't Have Regrets Like I Did'

"I had so many regrets myself. I hope our players don't have to experience those kinds of regrets."

Choi Jun-yong (KCC), who often carries a mischievous 'bad boy' image due to his playful and unpredictable personality, shed his smiles for a moment and turned serious.

Meeting reporters in the mixed zone after helping secure South Korea's first advance to the Asian Games basketball finals in 12 years today (September 18), Choi emphasized, "There are many players better than me when it comes to basketball, so I don't have much to say. But the one thing I want to tell them is that I hope none of them have regrets like I did."

Soon wearing his familiar, playful smile, he joked, "Since the players have never regretted things like I have, they probably don't know what it feels like. Though experiencing it once might not be entirely bad, I'd prefer they didn't feel it at all."

Today, South Korea defeated Iran 77-51 in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, decisively breaking their frustrating six-game losing streak against Iran.

Choi joined the national team despite pushing through a tight personal schedule.

Having stayed in the U.S. since last month after declaring a challenge to pursue his dream on the American stage by saying, "It feels like it has to be now or never," he joined the team right before the quarterfinals as soon as his schedule concluded.

Arriving at the athletes' village at dawn the day before yesterday without even having time to adjust to the jet lag or shake off his travel fatigue, he immediately stepped up for the quarterfinals. In today's semifinal as well, he played for 11 minutes and 50 seconds, tightly locking down the opponent's ace and selflessly taking on dirty work to contribute to the team's massive victory.

Choi vowed, "While I was training alone in the U.S. pursuing my dream, I was so grateful that my teammates quietly held down their spots waiting for me, considering who I am. To not betray those expectations, I will show what I'm capable of until the end."

A painful memory played a major role in his decision to throw himself onto the Asian Games stage despite the physical burden.

Choi had not made the national team roster for the Hangzhou Games, and he had to watch from the outside as South Korean basketball was eliminated in the quarterfinals, suffering a dismal reality of finishing in 7th place, the lowest in history.

Choi confessed, "Ahead of this tournament, the players received a lot of criticism during the test matches and the situation wasn't easy, which was deeply regrettable. Knowing how much sweat and hardship my teammates went through, my heart ached for them."

He expressed his conviction, saying, "If we win the gold medal and achieve a good result, I hope people don't take it for granted and treat the players even better out of a sense of gratitude."

He added with a broad smile, "I'm not putting myself through this grueling schedule so that someone will acknowledge it. It's just that my life is so much fun right now."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.