Wonju DB Basketball Team Appoints Lee Gyu-seob as New Head Coach

Lee Gyu-seob, head coach of Wonju DB. [Photo=Wonju DB]

Wonju DB has appointed Lee Gyu-seob, the former head coach of Busan KCC, as its new head coach.

The DB team announced on May 15 that it has signed a three-year contract with Lee, who will lead the team until May 2029.

Lee, a graduate of Korea University, was selected first overall in the 2000 rookie draft and played for Seoul Samsung. He won the Rookie of the Year award in his debut season and significantly contributed to the team's championships in the 2000-2001 and 2005-2006 seasons. Additionally, he represented the national team for a decade, winning a gold medal at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and a silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

After retiring in 2013, Lee became the first Korean coach in the NBA G League, serving as a regular coach for the Santa Cruz Warriors. From 2014, he spent eight years with Samsung as a coach and interim head coach, later working as a broadcaster. In the 2025-2026 season, he joined KCC as an assistant coach, helping the team secure a championship.

DB explained that Lee's extensive coaching experience and understanding of amateur basketball will aid in the development of rookie players like Yoo Jin and Kim Bo-bae. The team expressed confidence that he would effectively identify players' strengths and weaknesses, contributing to building a strong team in collaboration with the organization.

Additionally, DB has re-signed Park Ji-hyun as the head coach to assist Lee.

Previously, DB parted ways with head coach Kim Joo-sung, who led the team for three years. A franchise star who joined Wonju TG (the predecessor of DB) in 2002 and retired in 2018, Kim achieved a regular season championship in the 2023-2024 season, a seventh-place finish in 2024-2025, and a third-place finish in 2025-2026.

However, the team faced disappointment in the playoffs, failing to reach the finals after being eliminated in the semifinals of the 2023-2024 season and losing to KCC in the quarterfinals of the 2025-2026 season. After careful consideration, DB decided to end its partnership with Kim and pursue a new direction.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kang Sang Heon ksh@ajunews.com