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Veteran forward Kim Jung-eun breaks all-time scorer record in WKBL

Published: 03 Dec. 2024, 13:54 Updated: 03 Dec. 2024, 18:15

PAIK JI-HWAN
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Bucheon Hana Bank power forward Kim Jung-eun shoots during a WKBL game against Yong In Samsung Life Blue Minx at Bucheon Gymnasium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Monday. [NEWS1]

Veteran Bucheon Hana Bank power forward Kim Jung-eun became the top scorer of all time in WKBL history after scoring her 8,141st point against Yong In Samsung Life Blue Minx on Monday.

Kim, 37, scored two points in the first 25 seconds of the game at Bucheon Gymnasium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, breaking the all-time scorer record of 8,140 set by Jung Sun-min. She added six points during the game, finishing the match on 8,147 points in her team's 67-48 loss to Blue Minx.

The veteran's all-time record came in her 571st league appearance.

“Before I came to the gymnasium, I spoke with Jung Sun-min on Kakao,” Kim said after Monday’s game. “It won’t be long until I retire, but I want to help my team as much as possible. Playing in the championship with fellow players is my final goal.”

Bucheon Hana Bank power forward Kim Jung-eun thanks fans at Bucheon Gymnasium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, after a WKBL game against Yong In Samsung Life Blue Minx on Monday. [NEWS1]

Kim made her pro debut at the now-disbanded Bucheon Shinsegae Coolcat in 2005 at the age of 18 and has set multiple scoring records since.

She holds the records for the youngest player to reach each thousand point milestone, from 2,000 to 8,000 points. Only former Cheongju KB Stars center Park Ji-su reached the 1,000th point milestone a month earlier than Kim at 20 years and one month.

During Kim’s remarkable run, she has been a pivotal player both in the WKBL and Korean national team.

Kim won the rookie award in her WKBL debut season and became the top scorer in the 2010-11 campaign. She ended her first stint with Bucheon KEB Hana Bank, now called Bucheon Hana Bank, with 5,787 points.

Bucheon Shinsegae Coolcat disbanded in 2012, but Hana Financial Group took the team’s players and started Bucheon KEB Hana Bank as a new team.

Upon transferring to Asan Woori Bank Wibee, now called Asan Woori Bank Woori Won, for the 2017-18 season, she added 2,014 points to her tally and contributed to the team’s three league and championship titles in the 2017-18, 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons. She was also named MVP in the 2017-18 championship.

Since her return to Bucheon Hana Bank for the 2023-24 season, she has racked up 338 points.

Bucheon Hana Bank power forward Kim Jung-eun poses for a photo during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at the team's training center in Incheon on Nov. 19. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Kim said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, last month that she achieved two of her three goals she had set for herself 10 years ago.

“I accidentally found a memo from 10 years ago, and in it, I set three objectives: winning the MVP, a title and surpassing 10,000 points. I already achieved the MVP and the title. I only have the point record to break, and doing so would be as meaningful as reaching the 10,000 point mark because it would allow me to surpass Jung Sun-min and become the all-time top scorer.”

Kim was also a key player for the Korean national team from the 2000s to 2021, playing in the 2008 Beijing and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and in the 2014 Asian Games where she won a gold medal.

The Tokyo Olympics, where Korea finished in 10th place, was her last international tournament before retiring from national duty.

Kim’s likelihood of a WKBL championship this season does not seem within reach for now, with Bucheon sitting in fifth place on the six-team table as of Tuesday.

But Bucheon still has until March next year to bounce back and make it to the playoffs, where the top four finishers vie to reach the championship.

Bucheon have never reached the championship since it became a new team under Hana Financial Group in 2012, making it as far as the playoffs. A third-place finish both in the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs remains their best result.

The team made it to the playoffs last season for the first time in four years, but lost to eventual championship runners-up, the KB Stars.

The rest of Kim’s career offers her a chance to also break the all-time WKBL appearance record, set by Woori Won assistant coach Lim Yung-hui at 600. Kim’s 571st appearance puts her in fourth on the all-time list.

Kim’s historic journey in the WKBL will continue this season, with Bucheon returning to action in a game against the Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds on Thursday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]