(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Hong-seok = Professional basketball team Seoul Samsung's early season surge grew into a 'typhoon'.
Ahead of the 2026-2027 professional basketball season, no expert or head coach pointed out Samsung as a candidate for the championship.
Samsung is a 'last-place team' that stayed in last place for five consecutive seasons from the 2021-2022 season to last season.
When I opened the lid, I saw results that exceeded everyone's expectations. Samsung won all eight games from the opening game against Suwon KT on the 4th to the game against Korea Gas Corporation in Daegu on the 25th, tying the league record for the most opening winning streak.
In addition to Wonju DB, which was considered the top candidate for the championship, they also defeated last season's champion Busan KCC, regular league first place Changwon LG, and runner-up Goyang Sono.
At the center of the typhoon is the 'Turkiye Express' Kerem Kanter.
Kanter, who stands out for his strength and ability to control the area, recorded a 'double-double' in 5 of the 8 games Samsung played, including scoring 42 points and 14 rebounds, a personal high against LG.
In the game against Sono, he had the temperament to be a problem solver to the extent that he scored the winning goal 6 seconds before the end.
Domestic players also perform well.
Ho-Bin Han, who plays the role of 'ball handler' along with Justin Gutang, has an outstanding passing ability that catches the eye. Gutang and Ho-bin Han are tied for 6th place (5.8) and 8th place (5.4), respectively, in the league assist rankings.
‘Veteran’ Lee Kwan-hee, who plans to retire at the end of this year, shows off his athletic ability that belies his 38-year-old age.
Lee Kwan-hee, who usually starts games on the bench, is ranked 4th on the team in '%PTS', which indicates the percentage of points scored by a certain player out of the total team points while he is on the court, with 23.2%. The only domestic player with a higher figure than that is Jeong Seong-jo (31.3%).
The player who has improved the most compared to last season, when he ranked last, is second-year pro Lee Gyu-tae.
Most records, including scoring (5.9 points → 9.8 points), 3-point success rate (38.5% → 48.4%), field goal success rate (43.7% → 53.6%), and rebounds (1.8 → 3.6), increased significantly compared to last season.
In particular, he ranks second in scoring among first- and second-year players, following Moon Yoo-hyeon (10.0 points, Cheong Kwan-jang).
What has changed the most about Samsung is its focus on winning. Until last season, there were many games where the team fell apart in the fourth quarter, but that kind of thing is nowhere to be seen anymore.
This is why the leadership of new manager Kim Sang-sik, who took charge of Samsung, is bound to receive attention. He 'transformed' Samsung by emphasizing teamwork and fighting spirit.
If he sees the players even the slightest bit disheveled on the court, Coach Kim Sang-sik gives them a 'scream'.
After the win against KCC, Lee Kwan-hee confessed, “I get so scared every time the coach yells at me from the bench.”
When asked about the driving force behind the victory in an interview with a broadcasting station after their 8th consecutive win, coach Kim Sang-sik said, "It may be a cliché story, but I think it's mental strength."
He also said, “I feel a bit sorry for the players because I yell a lot to keep my spirits up,” but added, “In order for the team to win… I’m known to not usually yell, but I don’t think that’s the case right now.”
The teams that achieved eight consecutive wins in the opening game before Samsung were Wonju Dongbu (currently DB) in the 2011-2012 season and Goyang Orions in the 2014-2015 season. Both teams advanced to the playoffs that year.
Samsung will challenge Sono on the 30th to set a new record of 9 consecutive wins in the league's history.
