Lee Hyun-jung puts NBA future aside to focus on Asian Games with national team

JINCHEON, South Korea, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- With the Asian Games less than two months away, South Korean men's basketball forward Lee Hyun-jung said Monday he will put aside concerns over his professional future and keep his focus on representing the country.

Lee recently had an up-and-down run with the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Summer League, an offseason competition featuring recent draftees and other prospects hoping for a crack at the top league. Lee, 25, went undrafted out of Davidson College in 2022, and has been playing professionally in Australia and Japan since.

Lee was held without a point in his first game and managed just three points in the next game. In the third game, he put up 12 points but did not make any of his five attempts from behind the arc.

But in the fourth game on July 16, Lee scored 22 points with four three-pointers in a 94-82 win over the Utah Jazz and finished his Summer League two days later with a nine-point effort against the Phoenix Suns.

It remains to be seen whether this will be enough for Lee to earn a contract with the reigning Western Conference champions, but Lee said Monday this is not the time to worry about the situation.

"I understand my agent is handling that matter," Lee told reporters after an open training session at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, some 85 kilometers south of Seoul. "I am trying to work on my weaknesses each and every day with the national team, rather than feeling anxious about my future. I am going all-in on the national team."

As for his Summer League experience, Lee said it was fun but also humbling at the same time.

"I was able to finish without getting hurt, and I feel like I have taken a big step forward," Lee said. "And now, I have an opportunity to prove my growth with the national team."

Lee, whose mother, Seong Jeong-a, helped South Korea win silver in basketball at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, will be asked to do the bulk of scoring for the national team at the Asian Games. South Korea will try to win its first gold medal since 2014.

"When it comes to shooting, I always tell myself I am the best," Lee said. "But I felt I had more to give in every moment, even during the game where I scored 22 points. And I think that mindset has allowed me to keep getting better."

South Korea is scheduled to play Japan, the host of the Asian Games, for two tuneup games on Aug. 15 and 16 in Tokyo. And then South Korea will play in Asian qualifiers for next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup -- on Aug. 27 against Lebanon and Aug. 31 against Saudi Arabia.

The Asian Games tournament will begin in mid-September.

"I want to win every game I play, even our scrimmages this afternoon," Lee said. "Whether we play Japan or whomever, I want to help my team win.

"Obviously, the goal at the Asian Games is to win the gold medal," Lee added. "It doesn't matter how many points I score. The objective is to win the tournament and nothing else."