Suwon KT won the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 KBL Rookie Draft on Thursday at the KBL Center. KT went 21-33 last season, falling to eighth overall. The team had 16% of the picks in the lottery, which, combined with the luck of the draw, earned them the No. 1 overall pick.

KU forward Moon Jung-hyun (22‧194cm), guard Park Mubin (23‧184.4cm), and Yonsei guard Yoo Yoo-sang (22‧188cm) are being called the Big Three in the draft, and KT has the option to select any of them with the first pick, depending on their preferences. Moon Jung-hyun is said to be the favorite, but Park Mubin and Yoo Yoo-sang are also considered to be competitive for the top spot.

With the No. 1 pick in the bag, observers are taking note of KT’s incredible draft luck in the past. KT has had the most rotational picks of any team in the KBL. This luck has been steady even as the team has moved from Gwangju, Yeosu, and Busan to Suwon.

Starting with Byun Cheong-woon (No. 4), the team has secured picks for Cho Sang-hyun (No. 1), Kim Ki-man (No. 3), Jeon Seon-soo (No. 2), Jin Kyung-seok (No. 3), Ok Bum-joon (No. 2), Bang Sung-yoon (No. 1), Jang Jae-seok (No. 1), Choi Chang-jin (No. 4), Heo Hoon (No. 1), Yang Hong-seok (No. 2), Park Jun-young (No. 1), Park Ji-won (No. 2), Ha Yoon-ki (No. 2), Lee Doo-won (No. 2), and this year’s No. 1. In total, the team has 16 round-robin picks, with six each for the first and second spots.

The first pick, Cho Sang-hyun, was supposed to be the team’s franchise star, but was traded to SK for Hyun Joo-yup before he had a chance to play much, while Jeon Jeon-soo, who had more affection for Yeosu than anyone else, was sadly traded to the Ulsan Mobis for cash due to the team’s difficult situation. Ok Bum-jun, a genius guard who was rated as one level above Yang Dong-geun in his younger days, was unable to spread his wings due to injuries.

Their first pick after moving to Busan was Bang Sung-yoon. He had been a mainstay in the national team since he was a student at Yonsei University. Despite the presence of many overseas players such as Kim Hyo-beom in the draft, the number one pick was fixed to Bang Sung-yoon. However, Bang Sung-yoon, who preferred the capital region, did not welcome the move to Busan.

In the end, KTF was forced to make a trade that sent Bang Seong-yoon (first round pick), Jung Rak-young, and Kim Ki-man to SK for Cho Sang-hyun, Hwang Jin-won, and Lee Han-kwon. The best non-rotational pick is definitely the 2006 draft. It’s considered one of the most disappointing drafts ever, with the first pick being Jeon Jeong-kyu and the second being Noh Kyung-seok, but not for KT.

I didn’t have such expectations from the beginning, but I didn’t envy the rotational picks in the golden draft year when Cho Sung-min, the 8th pick, became a big hit, and in 2010, Lee Jung-hyun was selected with the 2nd pick, but had to be sent to Anyang due to a trade with KGC in the exhibition season. If he hadn’t, we would have had an all-time great pairing of Cho Sung-min and Lee Jung-hyun.

Lee Jae-do’s fifth-round pick in 2013 is also considered a success, though not as much as Cho Sung-min. On the other hand, in the October 2012 draft, SK’s first-round pick was used to select Jang Jae-seok, the biggest big man available at the time. The sign-and-trade of Park Sang-oh brought them the pick, and coincidentally, the No. 1 pick.

Their reputation as a draft powerhouse began in 2017. Led by Heo Hoon, the team went 1(+2)-1-7-2-2-2-2-1 for seven years, taking the first and second picks in all but 2019. The team will have three first-round picks and four second-round picks in that span. This led to a lot of talk about the luck of his predecessor, Seo Dong-chul.

However, seeing that the team received the first pick even after he stepped down, the story that ‘Heo Hoon inherited his father Heo Jae’s picking luck’ is gaining conviction (?). In addition, there are even opinions that Kim Young-hwan is a lucky mascot because KT was able to select Yang Hong-seok as the second pick when Heo Hoon was drafted due to the KT Cho Sung-min + 2nd round pick ↔ LG Kim Young-hwan + 1st round pick. In this way, it can be seen that KT’s draft luck is enviable.바카라

KT’s selection of Moon Jung-hyun will bring together Ha Yoon-ki, Lee Doo-won, and the other core members of Korea University’s glory days. In a situation where players must be selected through the draft, it’s rare to see alumni who were core members of a team come together over the course of a year. During the offseason, KT signed Sung-gon Moon as a free agent, and he is known as “Super Moon” among fans. Add in Jung-hyun Moon and you’ve got two super-moons. KT fans are simply delighted with their continued draft luck.