11 Years of Waiting and the Fruit… Champion MVP Kim Dan-bi
At this point, it’s worth calling it ‘Kim Dan-bi’s heyday’. I chose the first transfer in my life as the biggest free agent, and proudly put Woori Bank on top in 5 years. The MVP of the regular league and championship match was also his share. Danbi Kim, who said, “Winning seemed like someone else’s business,” finally shed tears as she talked about the pressure she felt during the past year. This is why this season is especially valuable to Danbi Kim.
After giving up being a franchise star in 15,
Danbi Kim made her debut at Shinhan Bank in 2007. Danbi Kim was a promising youngster who received a lot of attention during her days at Myeongshin Girls’ High School. In the end, Kim Dan-bi entered the pro with the second place in the first round of the rookie draft.
However, his debut team was ‘Real Shinhan’. A team lined up with brilliant seniors such as Jeon Joo-won, Jeong Seon-min, and Choi Yoon-ah. It was too much for Kim Dan-bi, who had just turned 20, to get a chance. Danbi Kim herself wasn’t ready yet. Danbi Kim continued to grow calmly under the rigorous training of Shinhan Bank coach Sung-Woo Lee, who was in charge of coaching at the time. Even the two of them would not have known that the relationship at the time would continue like this 16 years later.
Kim Dan-bi, who reached her potential through the Futures League, soon became a key resource for Shinhan Bank. He began to thread the sixth man position and soon became the starting pitcher. He led ‘Real Shinhan’ to 5 consecutive league victories with his seniors. Of course, it wasn’t a flashy ace. As mentioned earlier, Shinhan Bank was a team full of great seniors. Danbi Kim contributed to the championship as a piece of the team.
“I think I’ve been playing basketball up until now with what I learned for 4-5 years when coach Seong-Woo Wi was the coach of Shinhan Bank. He didn’t even weigh 1 kg. He was just a good player with good elasticity. At that time, coach Seong-woo Seong-woo trained hard and mastered the basics. I am grateful.” Looking back on the Shinhan Bank days, Danbi Kim expressed her thoughts.
Over the past 10 years, Kim Dan-bi has established herself as a Shinhan Bank franchise star. Danbi Kim was Shinhan Bank, and Shinhan Bank was Danbi Kim. So, the thought of Kim Dan-bi leaving Shinhan Bank, not to mention fans and people around her, did not even come to her mind. Danbi Kim said at the WKBL Awards Ceremony last year, “I don’t know if it was a coincidence when I went up on the podium, but there was Shinhan Bank on the right and Woori Bank on the left. My heart was touched. A team on one side,” he said, expressing his affection for Shinhan Bank.
The 2022 FA market that came like that. The unexpected choice made by Kim Dan-bi made the world buzz. Kim Dan-bi gave up the title of franchise star and chose to transfer. The reason is the challenge to win. Danbi Kim explained, “I believed in coach Seong-Woo Wi and he took on a new challenge because he wanted to win.” It was a singularity that would completely overturn the WKBL game.
“I thought a lot about wanting to play in a team that could challenge for the championship more. There are already so many good players in Woori Bank, so I thought that if I received the buffs from those players, I would be able to do better. Director, coach All of them have been with me from the beginning of my professional life, so I thought they would help me finish well.”
“It’s true that I didn’t really have any thoughts that I had to win the championship. I’ve won a lot. I thought a lot, ‘I’ve tried enough to win,’ but before I knew it, I was approaching the age of retirement. Retirement is getting closer and closer. When I thought to myself, ‘I don’t think I can be satisfied with only the playoffs.’ I decided to transfer, thinking that Woori Bank would take responsibility for my skills until the day I retired.”
When Danbi, a free
agent who was transferred to Woori Bank, moves the team, a common story is the problem of combination and breathing.
Basketball is not a sport where 1+1 always equals 2. Sometimes it’s 3, 4 or more, but sometimes it’s 1.5 or 0.5. On the court, 5 players have to place one ball and share the cramped half-court. When one star player joins, many things, such as ball possession and airborne movement, change. If you overcome this problem well, the team becomes a formidable team. However, if this problem is not properly addressed and the season starts, it will inevitably produce disappointing results compared to the value of the name.
Woori Bank, which recruited Danbi Kim, had to face the same problem. Of course, it wasn’t another player, it was Kim Dan-bi, so I wasn’t too worried. However, from the perspective of Woori Bank, which had to challenge for the championship, no part could be overlooked.
The result was a great success. Woori Bank did not entrust Kim Dan-bi only with the role of an ace on the outskirts. Woori Bank’s attack system itself used Danbi Kim. Danbi Kim coordinated the game at the top, and the rest of the players organically created scoring opportunities through terrifying off-ball moves. Whenever the set attack did not work out, Kim Dan-bi stepped forward to solve the attack.
The defense was even more so. Danbi Kim was the center of the defensive system. This is the reason coach Wi Seong-woo said, “With Kim Dan-bi coming, the defense organization has completely changed.” Woori Bank spent a season with an average of less than 60 points conceded as Kim Dan-bi played the role of anchor for the defense, such as the pressure following the switch defense and the opponent’s big man defense under the goal. Manager Park Hye-jin and Wi Seong-woo said in unison, “This season Woori Bank had the best defense after the season with John Quell Jones.” It was possible because of Kim Dan-bi, who has shown excellent defense since he was a promising player.
With Kim Dan-bi at the forefront, Woori Bank continued its speedy run to its heart’s content, winning 15 consecutive victories during the regular season. Fatal variables such as Park Hye-jin and Choi Yi-sam’s injuries were also overcome with Kim Dan-bi as the center. The ripple effect created by ‘Danbi’ to Woori Bank was great. Kim Dan-bi led the team to victory in the regular league and dominated the playoffs as well. The result is a combined win. Kim Dan-bi was recognized as the best by sweeping the MVP from the regular league to the championship match. It was the moment when Seokja, whose name was Kim Dan-bi, left a strong impact on the history of women’s professional basketball.
As a young player, it was a different victory from the past, when I followed the great seniors and tasted the championship. The championship for the first time in 11 years gave Kim Dan-bi a lot of emotions. After the victory was confirmed, Kim Dan-bi shed tears and bowed off the court along with her players.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to cry. But seeing (Park) Ji-hyun crying made me tear up too. Seeing the maknaes crying, I think my heart was filled with them as well. That’s why I cried.”
“To be honest, I don’t think I had any special thoughts when I won Shinhan Bank (11 years ago). Anyway, I’m a 16-year-old player, and now I think of the years I’ve spent. I thought winning was someone else’s business to me. I think it’s better to win again in the same situation as before.”
Here is the integrated MVP of the regular league and the championship game. 2023 must be Kim Dan-bi’s dismissal.
“Until now, you’ve been far from winning. No matter what interview you do, you’ve heard a lot about the lack of an MVP. Every time I did, I passed on saying that I didn’t have to be an MVP or that it was okay. At that time, I just thought I was okay. Seeing it, I thought what it would be like to receive the MVP, the best award ever. After receiving the MVP like this, I think that I was good at basketball. I think that I have finished playing basketball once. I feel like I’ve come to my seat. I feel so good.
” It was difficult,” he said.
Regarding this, Kim Dan-bi explained that since he gave up being a franchise star, he had no choice but to be more burdened.
“There were things I had to do well at Woori Bank, and being at Shinhan Bank for too long was a reason for the burden. Shinhan Bank was like a hometown to me. You left that place behind and came to Woori Bank. I was worried that I would give up and ask why I was struggling to come to Woori Bank. I was worried that the choice I made would be the wrong one.”
Kim Dan-bi’s victory this time had a different meaning because she achieved it again with manager Wi Seong-woo, who shared the glory of ‘Real Shinhan’ as an assistant.
Kim Dan-bi said, “I think coach Seong-woo Wi believes in me a lot. He even acknowledges it. Even though I’ve been away from another team for 10 years, the coach seems to know me well. Looking at my expression, I think he knows what kind of mental state I am in. . In a way, he is the person who made me. I am always grateful.”
Now Danbi Kim is preparing for Woori Bank’s ‘Season 2’. He said, “I want to rest for now,” but he didn’t forget to promise,카지노사이트 “I will prepare more so that I don’t get sluggish.”
“I haven’t thought about the next season yet. However, since I have achieved my goal of winning the title, I may feel relaxed. Maybe the next season will be a tougher season. It’s a season that brought me luck in many ways. The next season will be a tougher season. Because of that, I want to prepare a lot and spend a season where I can win again.”