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Lee Jung-hyun becomes first unanimous round MVP in pro basketball
Five-time NBA player of the year Lee Jung-hyun (Sono) has been named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Game 6 of this season. It is the first unanimous award since the round MVP voting began.
The KBL announced on Wednesday that Lee Jung-hyun received all 80 votes in the MVP voting for the sixth round of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball League.
Lee, who made his debut in the 2021-2022 season, was named the Round MVP for the first time in his professional career in the fifth round and continued his dominance as the top player in the sixth round.
Lee was honored as the first unanimous winner of the award since the Round MVP system was introduced in the 2015-2016 season.
He is the only Korean player to be named Round MVP this season.
Dedrick Lawson (DB), Asem Marei (LG), Paris Bass (KT), and Andrew Nicholson (KOGAS) were named MVPs in Rounds 1-4.
Lee averaged 30.8 points, 7.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game in eight games in Round 6, playing 40 minutes and 17 seconds per game.
His points and steals ranked first overall among all Korean and foreign players in Round 6, while his assists ranked second.
Lee played in 44 regular season games this season, averaging 22.8 points, 6.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.
At the professional basketball awards ceremony held the previous day, Lee won three statistical awards (assists, steals, and three-pointers), a skill development award, and five best-of-five selections.
The last time a Korean player averaged more than 20 points was Moon Tae-young (22 points) in the 2010-2011 season. If you narrow it down to Korean draft picks, it goes back to Bang Sung-yoon (22.1 points) in the 2007-2008 season.
Lee averaged 15.0 points and 4.2 assists last season. This season, he's increased his scoring by eight points and his assists by two.