The Korean Basketball League Rookie of the Year Award (Korean: 신인선수상) is an annual Korean Basketball League (KBL) award given since 1998 to the best performing rookie player. Both foreign and domestic players who meet the criteria are eligible to be nominated for the award.
Eligibility Domestic players must be in their first two seasons and have played at least 50% of the 54 league games. Foreign players with experience in overseas leagues may be considered for nomination but must have less than a year of playing experience in a professional team.
History From the 1997–98 season to the 2011–12 seasons, the KBL rookie draft took place in January or February, towards the end of the season. Rookies only began their first season with a professional team in October of the same calendar year, when the KBL season began. The draft was eventually moved closer to the beginning of the professional season.
In terms of award eligibility, the term "rookie" (Korean: 신인) previously only applied to players in their first year as a professional. With the rise of foreign import players and increasing competition among domestic players for spots on the first team, concerns arose over the fact that few first-year players clocked up enough playing time to qualify for the award and players who were only able to break into the first team during their second or third year as a professional. Prior to the 2020–21 season, the KBL announced that eligibility for the award would be extended to players in their first two years and foreign players.
Winners ^Denotes player who is still active in the KBL Denotes player whose team won the KBL Championship that yearPlayer(in italic text)Denotes player who has also won the KBL Most Valuable Player Award Team (X)Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time Season Player Position Team 1997–98 Joo Hee-jung Guard Wonju Naray Blue Bird 1998–99 Shin Ki-sung Guard Wonju Naray Blue Bird (2) 1999–00 Kim Sung-chul Forward Anyang SBS Stars 2000–01 Lee Kyu-sup Forward Suwon Samsung Thunders 2001–02 Kim Seung-hyun Guard Daegu Tongyang Orions 2002–03 Kim Joo-sung Forward Wonju TG Xers (3) 2003–04 Lee Hyun-ho Forward Seoul Samsung Thunders (2) 2004–05 Yang Dong-geun Guard Ulsan Mobis Phoebus 2005–06 Bang Seung-yoon Forward Seoul SK Knights 2006–07 Lee Hyun-min Guard Changwon LG Sakers 2007–08 Kim Tae-sul Guard Seoul SK Knights (2) 2008–09 Ha Seung-jin Center Jeonju KCC Egis 2009–10 Park Sung-jin Guard Incheon Electroland Elephants 2010–11 Park Chan-hee^ Guard Anyang KGC (2) 2011–12 Oh Se-keun^ Center Anyang KGC (3) 2012–13 Choi Boo-kyung^ Forward Seoul SK Knights (3) 2013–14 Kim Jong-kyu^ Center Changwon LG Sakers (2) 2014–15 Lee Seoung-hyun^ Forward Goyang Orions (2) 2015–16 Jung Seong-woo^ Guard Changwon LG Sakers (3) 2016–17 Kang Sang-jae^ Forward Incheon Electroland Elephants (2) 2017–18 Ahn Young-joon^ Forward Seoul SK Knights (4) 2018–19 Byeon Jun-hyung^ Guard Anyang KGC (4) 2019–20 Kim Hoon^ Forward Wonju DB Promy (4) 2020–21 Oh Jae-hyun^ Guard Seoul SK Knights (5) 2021–22 Lee Woo-suk^ Guard Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus (2) 2022–23 RJ Abarrientos Guard Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus (3) 2024–25 JD Cagulangan Guard Suwon KT Sonicboom 2025–26 Kevin Quiambao^ Forward Goyang Sono Skygunners (3)
Teams Awards Teams Years 5 Cheongju / Seoul SK Knights 2006, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2021 4 Wonju DB Promy 1998, 1999, 2003, 2000 Anyang KT&G / KGC 2000, 2011, 2012, 2019 3 Changwon LG Sakers 2007, 2014, 2016 Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus 2005, 2022, 2023 Goyang Sono Skygunners 2002, 2015, 2026 2 Suwon / Seoul Samsung Thunders 2001, 2004 Daegu KOGAS Pegasus 2010, 2017
Notes
References
External links Records: Past records / 주요기록: 역대수상현황 on the Korean Basketball League official website