Choi Jun-yong

Choi Jun-yong (Korean: 최준용; born April 4, 1994) is a South Korean basketball player for Busan KCC Egis and the South Korean national team.^[1] He has previously also played for the Seoul SK Knights.

Choi Jun-yong
최준용

No. 2 – Busan KCC Egis
Position	Forward
League	KBL
Personal information
Born	(1994-04-04) April 4, 1994 (age 31) Daegu, South Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Career information
High school	Kyungbock High School
College	Yonsei University
KBL draft	2016: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–2023	Seoul SK Knights
2023–present	Busan KCC Egis
Career highlights
KBL Most Valuable Player (2022) 3× KBL champion (2018, 2022, 2024)
Medals FIBA Asia Cup 2017 Lebanon Asian Games 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Team

Korean name
Hangul	최준용
Hanja	崔俊龍
Revised Romanization	Choe Junyong
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Chunyong

Career

High school and college career

Choi attended Kyungbock High School and was classmates with Lee Jong-hyun.^[2] While at Kyungbock, he, Lee and their senior Moon Seong-gon, were dubbed the "Kyungbock Trio" by rival high school teams for their well-rounded offensive capabilities.^[3] Moon and Lee went on to Korea University while Choi was recruited by Yonsei University.

During his senior year, Choi captained Yonsei to a clean sweep of the U-League regular season title and championship and the MBC Cup, the first time since 2005 Yonsei has won it.^[4][5] He was also named MVP of the MBC Cup tournament. At that time his teammates included future MVP Heo Hoon and future KBL Rookie of the Year Ahn Young-joon. He declared eligibility for the 2016 KBL draft.

Professional

Choi was considered one of the "big 3", along with Lee and Kang Sang-jae, of the 2016 KBL rookie draft and strong contenders for the first pick of the first round.^[6][7] He was drafted by Seoul SK Knights as the second pick.

After an uneventful rookie season, Choi began to grow into his role during the 2017-18 season and played a bigger role in Seoul SK Knights' second-place finish in the regular season and KBL Championship win. He averaged 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists.^[8] After a 2018-19 season mostly plagued by injury, he returned to the side but found himself having to battle with veteran Kim Sun-hyung for a spot in the starting 5.

On December 8, 2020, it was reported that Choi had been suspended for three games by his team after he accidentally leaked a nude photograph of his teammate on his social media. He and his team immediately posted an apology, explaining that the teammate involved was also a close friend and had accepted the apology and that Choi would serve the suspension with immediate effect.^[9] The KBL further extended the suspension to five games and fined him 3 million won.^[10]

In the 2021–22 season, Choi won the KBL Most Valuable Player Award and won his second KBL championship.^[11]

National team

He participated at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.^[12]