Lee Hyun-jung: "I Thought I Need to Kill Them," While Japanese Fans Say, "I Hate Him But Love Him"

The members of the men's national basketball team, who reached the top by defeating their archrival Japan to claim the gold medal for the first time in 12 years at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, shared their honest feelings right after the match.

In particular, Lee Hyun-jung, the team's main scorer, expressed without reservation how he felt amid adverse conditions, such as the so-called "bus no-show" incident where the bus scheduled to pick them up before the final didn't arrive, forcing them to cancel training, as well as biased home-court refereeing during the game.

[Lee Hyun-jung / Men's National Basketball Team : It was kind of absurd. It was absurd and ridiculous, but in times like that, it actually only boosted our fighting spirit, and I think talking about focusing solely on the game worked out well.]

Regarding the absurd incidents that occurred successively during this Asian Games, Lee said, "To be honest, when situations like this happen, it makes you think in the game that you need to kill them," while adding, "I tend to try to think and keep a cool head."

When asked about the reason he shed tears right after the match, his eyes welled up as he expressed his gratitude toward the foreign head coach and his teammates.

[Lee Hyun-jung / Men's National Basketball Team : Our foreign coach, Mazurs, went through a lot. He came alone all the way here in a foreign land without his coaching staff... He looked like me challenging myself overseas, and seeing him not giving up that mindset and working well with us to win the gold medal made me grateful to him, and I think that's why I shed a lot of tears because of the coach.]

Led by Head Coach Nikolajs Mazurs, the South Korean men's national basketball team defeated Japan 67 to 57 in the Asian Games basketball final yesterday to capture the gold medal.

Lee, who seemed to struggle against Japan's pressing defense in the first half, led the team to victory by scoring 27 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, including 5 three-pointers in the second half alone.

A broadcast capture showed Lee approaching the Japanese coaching staff right after the match to personally shake hands and greet them, which drew praise from Japanese fans such as, "As a rival, Lee Hyun-jung is annoying, but he has truly great character."

Lee, who became eligible for military service exemption through this victory, said, "It would be a lie to say I'm not happy about the military service exemption," adding, "That means the national basketball team shouldn't just stop at winning the Asian Games gold medal, but push further from here."

Leaving immediately for Portland, United States, to pursue his NBA dream, Lee expressed his determination to move beyond the Asian Games victory toward an even greater goal.

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.